Game system

ABSTRACT

Provided is a game system executing a game by performing communication between a plurality of hand-held game apparatuses, each having a display section for displaying an image and an operation section, and a stationary game apparatus. In each of the plurality of hand-held game apparatuses, a plurality of directional signs indicative of operations performed by a player using the operation section is displayed on the display section. Operation data indicative of a content of the operation performed by using the operation section is transmitted to the stationary game apparatus. The stationary game apparatus receives the operation data transmitted from each of the plurality of hand-held game apparatuses. The stationary game apparatus obtains, from sound data storage means storing therein a plurality of pieces of sound data, sound data corresponding to the operation data, and at the same time, outputs a sound based on each piece of the obtained sound data.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-310902, filed onNov. 30, 2007, is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a game system which executes a gameprocess using communication between a stationary game apparatus and aplurality of hand-held game apparatuses. More specifically, the presentinvention relates to a music game system which causes a plurality ofplayers to play cooperatively a musical composition.

2. Description of the Background Art

Conventionally, a genre of games called a “music game”, in which musicis introduced as a game component, is widely known. In the games, aplurality of tracks, which are arranged vertically or horizontally, aredisplayed on a TV screen. In addition, an object moves on the tracksaccording to a music play. A player operates a predetermined operationswitch in accordance with an operation timing indicated on the screen,whereby the player plays the game while an effect of causing the playerto feel as if actually playing the music is exerted.

As one of the above-described music games, known is a music game whichallows a plurality of players to participate in playing cooperativelyone musical composition (e.g., User's Manual of “Daigasso Band Brothers”released on Dec. 2, 2004 from Nintendo Co., Ltd.). In this cooperativemusic playing game, the music is played by using a plurality ofhand-held game apparatuses each having a wireless communication functionincorporated therein. FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a systemconfiguration when the cooperative music playing game is played. In thecooperative music playing game, one of the plurality of hand-held gameapparatuses is regarded as a master apparatus 401 a. The remaininghand-held game apparatuses are regarded as slave apparatuses 401 b, andcommunication lines are established such that each of the slaveapparatuses 401 b can perform wireless communication with the masterapparatus 401 a.

Further, in the cooperative music playing game, one musical compositionis divided into respective units called “parts” (for example, parts ofthe guitar, the piano, the violin, and the like) depending on themusical instruments used for playing the musical composition. One playerhas one of the hand-held game apparatuses. The above-described “parts”are assigned to respective players. An operation screen displayed oneach of hand-held game apparatuses varies in accordance with the part tobe performed, and thus each of the players performs operation forplaying the part (e.g., pressing buttons or the like in accordance withan operation timing displayed on the screen of each of the players).That is, each of the players imaginarily plays a different musicalinstrument. In the case of being exemplified by the above-describedexample, one player plays the guitar, one player plays the piano, andthe other one player plays the violin, imaginarily.

Operation data of each of the players is gathered to the masterapparatus, and the gathered operation data is transmitted to each of theslave apparatuses. Accordingly, the operation data performed by each ofthe players is distributed to each of the hand-held game apparatuses. Ineach of the hand-held game apparatuses (both of the master apparatus andthe slave apparatuses), a sound of each of the parts is simultaneouslyoutputted in accordance with the distributed operation data, wherebysounds (of the guitar, the piano, and the violin in the case of theabove-described example) caused by the operation of the each of theplayer can be outputted. In this manner, the cooperative music playinggame provides the plurality of players with fun of experiencing inplaying one musical composition cooperatively.

However, the above-described cooperative music playing game has thefollowing problems. FIG. 33 is a diagram schematically showing aprocessing flow during the cooperative music playing performed with theconventional cooperative music playing game. As shown in FIG. 33, therespective players play respective operations (time T1). Next, in eachof the slave apparatuses 401 b, processing to transmit the operationdata to the master apparatus 401 a is performed, and in the masterapparatus 401 a, processing to receive the operation data (time T2) isperformed. Accordingly, the operation data of each of the players aregathered to the master apparatus 401 a.

Next, processing is performed so as to transmit the gathered operationdata from the master apparatus 401 a to each of the slave apparatuses401 b. In accordance with this, in each of the slave apparatuses 401 b,processing is performed so as to receive the operation data of each ofthe players transmitted from the master apparatus 401 a (time T3).Processing is then performed so as to output, from each of the hand-heldgame apparatuses, a sound having reflected therein the operation data ofeach of the players (time T4).

As shown in the above-described processing flow, in order to output thesound from each of the slave apparatuses 401 b after the operation isperformed therewith, each of the slave apparatus 401 b needs to receivethe operation data of the other players via the master apparatus 401 a.In other words, even if each of the players performs the operation, thesounds having reflected therein the operations of all the players cannotbe outputted immediately thereafter. In the case of FIG. 33, threeprocessing steps corresponding to times T2, T3 and T4 are necessaryafter the operation performed by each of the players until the output ofthe sounds. Further, the game process is generally processed in units offlames, e.g., at an interval of 1/60 sec., which is an interval ofdrawing a game screen. However, due to a communication speed of thewireless communication, it is difficult to perform transmission from theslave apparatus to the master apparatus (processing during time T2) andtransmission from the master apparatus to the slave apparatus(processing during time T3) within one frame. Generally, processing timeof a two-frame length, that is, one frame for the processing during timeT2 and one frame for the processing during time T3, is required. As aresult, in the conventional cooperative music playing games, there hasbeen a time lag of one-frame length between the operation performed byeach of the players and an actual output of the sounds caused by theoperation performed by each of the players. Therefore, a problem hasbeen posed in that, depending on a content (such as tempo) of a musicalcomposition to be played cooperatively, the player may feel a sense ofdiscomfort resulting from the time lag.

In the case of the above-described hand-held game apparatus, a main body(housing) thereof needs to be downsized for the sake of being carried bythe player. In order to downsize the main body, a speaker mountedtherein needs to be downsized inevitably. However, a small speakergenerally has weak bass output, and thus a problem is posed in that anoutputted sound cannot have a sound quality which satisfies the player.

Further, a processing unit such as a CPU used for the hand-held gameapparatus is generally slow in processing speed as compared to that of astationary game apparatus. On the other hand, with respect to sounddata, the higher the sound quality is, the greater an amount of the databecomes. However, it may be an excessive processing load for the CPU ofthe hand-held game apparatus, which is relatively slow in the processingspeed, to process the sound data of a large data amount (high qualitysound data). Therefore, in order to keep providing the player with apreferable operational feeling, there has been adopted “small-amount”sound data, in which the sound quality is degraded to some degree, forprocessing. As a result, in addition to the problem of theabove-described size of the speaker, a problem has been posed in thatquality of the sound outputted from the hand-held game apparatus is low,since the quality of the sound data processed by the hand-held gameapparatus is originally low.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a gamesystem which eliminates time lag between an operation of each of theplayers and outputting of the sound, when a plurality of players plays agame of outputting a sound by using respective hand-held gameapparatuses.

Further, another object of the present invention is to provide a gamesystem which is capable of causing a plurality of players to enjoy highquality sound output by using respective hand-held game apparatuses.

The present invention has the following features to attain the objectmentioned above. The reference numerals, additional explanations and thelike in the parentheses indicate the correspondence with the embodimentdescribed below in order to aid in understanding the present inventionand are not intended to limit, in any way, the scope of the presentinvention.

A first aspect is a game system executing a game by performingcommunication between a stationary game apparatus (3) and a plurality ofhand-held game apparatuses (40), each including a display section (41,42) for displaying an image and an operation section (44, 45). Each ofthe plurality of hand-held game apparatuses comprises display controlmeans (51) and operation data transmission means (63). The displaycontrol means causes a plurality of directional signs to be displayed onthe display section so as to indicate to a player an operation to beperformed by using the operation section. The operation datatransmission means transmits, to the stationary game apparatus,operation data indicative of a content of the operation performed byusing the operation section. The stationary game apparatus comprisessound data storage means for the stationary apparatus (12), operationdata reception means (18), sound reading means (10), and sound outputmeans (10, 15, 16). The sound data storage means for the stationaryapparatus stores therein a plurality of pieces of sound data. Theoperation data reception means receives the operation data transmittedfrom each of the plurality of hand-held game apparatuses. The soundreading means obtaines, from the sound data storage means, sound datacorresponding to the operation data transmitted from each of theplurality of the hand-held game apparatuses. The sound output meansoutputs a sound based on the obtained sound data.

According to the first aspect, it is possible to reduce a time lagbetween the operation of the player and the output of the soundcorresponding to the operation. Further, it is possible to cause theplayer to enjoy a game while a high quality sound is outputted.

In a second aspect based on the first aspect, a game executed by thegame system is a music game in which a musical composition which iscomposed of a plurality of parts is played cooperatively by using eachof the hand-held game apparatuses while each of the plurality of partsare taken charge of by each of the hand-held game apparatuses. Theplurality of directional signs indicate a content of a play operation ofthe musical composition with respect to each of the plurality of parts.Each of the hand-held game apparatuses further comprises directionalsign storage means (54) for storing, in a chronological order, therein,data indicative of the plurality of directional signs. The displaycontrol means reads, from the directional sign storage means, theplurality of directional signs for causing each of the hand-held gameapparatuses to play the part taken charge of thereby, and displays theplurality of directional signs on the display section. The sound datastorage means for the stationary apparatus stores therein sound datacorresponding to each of the plurality of parts. The sound data readingmeans reads, in accordance with the operation data, sound datacorresponding to a part taken charge of by a hand-held game apparatuswhich is a transmission source of the operation data.

According to the second aspect, by using a high quality sound, it ispossible to cause the player to enjoy the cooperative play withoutfeeling discomfort such as a time lag in the sound. Accordingly, theplurality of players can strongly feel togetherness through thecooperative music playing, and accordingly amusingness of the music gamecan be improved.

In a third aspect based on the second aspect, each of the hand-held gameapparatuses further comprises: part selection means (51) for causing aplayer to select a part to be taken charge of by the player; and partinformation transmission means (63) for transmitting part selectioninformation indicative of the part selected by the player to thestationary game apparatus. The stationary game apparatus furthercomprises: part information reception means (10, 18) for receiving thepart selection information; and all part information transmission means(10, 18) for transmitting all pieces of the received part selectioninformation to each of the hand-held game apparatuses.

According to the third aspect, the respective parts composing themusical composition is assigned to the plurality of players, whereby itis possible to cause the players to enjoy playing the musicalcomposition.

In a fourth aspect based on the third aspect, the stationary gameapparatus further comprises automatic playing means (10) for reproducingapart of the musical composition, among the plurality of partsconstituting the musical composition, which is not selected by the partselection means.

According to the fourth aspect, even when a small number of playersenter the cooperative music playing game, it is possible to cause theplayer to enjoy as if the musical composition is played by a largernumber of players.

In a fifth aspect based on a first aspect, the sound output means iscapable of outputting the sound data obtained by the sound reading meansby changing the musical scale of the sound data to a predeterminedmusical scale.

According to the fifth aspect, it is possible to reduce an amount ofdata to be stored in the sound data storage means for the stationaryapparatus.

In a sixth aspect based on the first aspect, the operation sectionincludes a depressible key. The operation data includes data indicativeof an operation of the depressible key.

According to the sixth aspect, it is possible to cause the player toenjoy the music game by using a simple operation of merely pressingbuttons.

In a seventh aspect based on the first aspect, the operation sectionincludes a touch panel. The operation data includes data indicative of atouch coordinate point on the touch panel.

According to the seventh aspect, it is possible to widen a type of anoperation method by introducing the touch panel operation.

In an eighth aspect based on the second aspect, each of the hand-heldgame apparatuses further comprises sound data storage means (54),inter-hand-held-apparatus communication means (63),inter-hand-held-apparatus communication game means (51), and game modeselection means (51). The sound data storage means for the hand-heldapparatus stores therein sound data whose quality is lower than thesound data stored in the sound data storage means for the stationaryapparatus. The inter-hand-held-apparatus communication means performscommunication among the hand-held game apparatuses. Theinter-hand-held-apparatus communication game means performs the musicgame while communication among the hand-held game apparatuses isperformed by using the sound data stored in the sound data storage meansfor the hand-held apparatus and the inter-hand-held-apparatuscommunication means. The game mode selection means causes the player toselect either of a game mode in which the music game is performed whilecommunication is performed among the hand-held game apparatuses or agame mode in which the music game is performed through communicationwith the stationary game apparatus.

According to the eighth aspect, a game mode can be selected from eitherof that using the stationary game apparatus or that not using thestationary game apparatus, and thus it is possible to widen the mannerin which the player enjoys the game. Further, in the case where thestationary game apparatus is used, the player can enjoy the music gameof a high sound quality, which encourages the player to use thestationary game apparatus.

In a ninth aspect based on the second aspect, at least one of thehand-held game apparatuses further includes musical composition datastorage means (54) and musical composition data transmission means (63).The musical composition data storage means includes data indicative ofthe plurality of directional signs. The musical composition datatransmission means transmits the musical composition data to thestationary game apparatus. The stationary game apparatus furthercomprises musical composition data reception means (10, 18) and musicalcomposition data distribution means (10, 18). The musical compositiondata reception means receives the musical composition data. The musicalcomposition data distribution means transmits the received musicalcomposition data to the hand-held game apparatuses. The directional signstorage means stores therein data indicative of the plurality ofdirectional signs included in the musical composition data transmittedfrom the musical composition data distribution means.

According to the ninth aspect, as long as data of a musical compositionis stored in one of the plurality of hand-held game apparatuses, manyplayers can enjoy playing the musical composition.

In a tenth aspect based on the ninth aspect, each of the plurality ofthe hand-held game apparatuses further comprises scoring pointcalculation means (51) and scoring point transmission means (63). Thescoring point calculation means calculates a scoring point of a playoperation performed by the player by comparing the musical compositiondata to the operation data. The scoring point transmission meanstransmits scoring point data indicative of the scoring point to thestationary game apparatus. The stationary game apparatus furthercomprises scoring point reception means (18) and scoring point displaymeans (10). The scoring point reception means receives the scoring pointdata transmitted by the scoring point transmission means. The scoringpoint display means displays the scoring point of the player of each ofthe hand-held apparatuses in accordance with the received scoring pointdata.

According to the tenth aspect, an accurate scoring point calculation canbe performed. Since the player can recognize scoring points of otherplayers, it is possible to enhance the amusingness of the game.

In an eleventh aspect based on the ninth aspect, the stationary gameapparatus further comprises distribution program storage means (17) anddistribution means (18). The distribution program storage means storestherein a play operation program for allowing a play operation to beperformed by using each of the hand-held game apparatuses. Thedistribution means distributes the play operation program. Each of thehand-held game apparatuses further comprises storage medium receivingmeans (53) and play operation program storage means (54). The storagemedium receiving means detachably accommodates a storage medium (47)having stored therein a game program for executing the music game andthe musical composition data. The play operation program storage meansstores therein the play operation program. The musical composition datatransmission means of a hand-held game apparatus, which accommodates thestorage medium, transmits the musical composition data stored in thestorage medium to the stationary game apparatus. The distribution meanstransmits the play operation program to a hand-held game apparatus whichdoes not accommodate the storage medium. The musical composition datadistribution means transmits, to the hand-held game apparatus which doesnot accommodate the storage medium, the musical composition datatransmitted from the musical composition data transmission means of thehand-held game apparatus which accommodates the storage medium. Thehand-held game apparatus, which does not accommodate the storage medium,executes the music game in accordance with the play operation programtransmitted from the distribution means and the musical composition datatransmitted from the musical composition data distribution means.

According to the eleventh aspect, the storage medium having storedtherein the game program and the musical composition data is notnecessarily mounted in all the hand-held game apparatuses, and only withone storage medium, a plurality of players can enjoy the music game.

According to the present invention, a time lag between the operation ofthe player and the actual sound output can be decreased. Accordingly, itis possible to provide the player with a comfortable sense of playingwithout causing the player to feel the time lag in the sound output.

These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the present invention when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an external view illustrating a whole game system according toone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an external view illustrating a stationary game apparatus 3shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a stationary game apparatus 3shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a controller 7 as viewed from a top rearside thereof shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the controller 7 as viewed from a bottomfront side thereof shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the controller 7 shown in FIG. 3 in astate where an upper housing thereof is removed;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the controller 7 shown in FIG. 3 in astate where a lower housing there of is removed;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the controller 7shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is an external view of a hand-held game apparatus 40 according tothe embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the hand-held game apparatus 40 accordingto the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an overview of a flow of a cooperativemusic playing game process assumed in the present embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an exemplary game screen transition assumedin the present embodiment;

FIG. 13 shows an exemplary cooperative music playing game screen assumedin the present embodiment;

FIG. 14 shows another exemplary cooperative music playing game screenassumed in the present embodiment;

FIG. 15 shows another exemplary cooperative music playing game screenassumed in the present embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a diagram schematically showing a principle of processingaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a memory map of an external main memory 12shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a memory map of a RAM 54 of a leaderapparatus;

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an exemplary data structure of musicalcomposition data 146;

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an exemplary data structure of musicalscore data 163;

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a specific example of musical scale data165;

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an exemplary data structure of a tempo list166;

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an exemplary data structure of a parameterlist 167;

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a memory map of a RAM 54 of a memberapparatus;

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an exemplary structure of a communicationpacket according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing another exemplary structure of thecommunication packet according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing, in detail, a flow of a cooperative musicplaying game process according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing, in detail, processing for establishingconnection;

FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing, in detail, part selection processing;

FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing, in detail, hand-held-apparatus-sidecooperative playing processing executed by respective hand-held gameapparatuses 40;

FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing, in detail, stationary-apparatus-sidecooperative playing processing executed by a stationary game apparatus3;

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a system configuration for playing aconventional cooperative music playing game; and

FIG. 33 is a diagram schematically showing a processing flow duringcooperative playing with the conventional music playing game.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be describedwith reference to diagrams. Note that this embodiment does not limit thescope of the present invention in any way.

As shown in FIG. 1, a game system of the present embodiment is composedof one stationary game apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as astationary apparatus) 3 and a plurality of hand-held game apparatuses 40(hereinafter simply referred to as hand-held apparatuses). Thestationary apparatus 3 and each of the hand-held apparatuses 40 areconnected to each other so as to wirelessly communicate with each other.A television receiver (hereinafter simply referred to as a “television”)2 is also connected to the stationary apparatus 3.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the stationary apparatus 3. As shown inFIG. 2, the stationary apparatus 3 includes an optical disc 4, acontroller 7, and a marker section 8. The present game system causes thestationary apparatus 3 to execute a game process in accordance with agame operation using the controller 7.

The optical disc 4, which is an exemplary information storage medium andexchangeably used to the stationary apparatus 3, is detachably insertedinto the stationary apparatus 3. The optical disc 4 has stored therein agame program to be executed on the stationary apparatus 3. On the frontsurface of the stationary apparatus 3, an insertion slot of the opticaldisc 4 is provided. In the stationary apparatus 3, the game programstored in the optical disc 4 having been inserted in the insertion slotis read and executed, whereby a game process is executed.

The television 2, which is an exemplary display apparatus, is connectedto the stationary apparatus 3 via a connection cord. On the television2, a game image, which is obtained as a result of the game processexecuted on the stationary apparatus 3, is displayed. At a peripheralpart of a screen of the television 2 (an upper side of the screen in thecase of FIG. 1), the marker section 8 is provided. The marker section 8has two markers 8R and 8L located at both ends thereof. The marker 8R(as well as the marker 8L) is specifically composed of one or moreinfrared LEDs, and outputs infrared light forward from the television 2.The marker section 8 is connected to the stationary apparatus 3, and thestationary apparatus 3 is capable of controlling lighting of therespective infrared LEDs in the marker section 8.

The controller 7 is an input device for providing the stationaryapparatus 3 with operation data indicative of a content of an operationapplied to the controller 7. The controller 7 and the stationaryapparatus 3 are connected to each other through wireless communication.In the present embodiment, a technique of Bluetooth (registeredtrademark), for example, is used for the wireless communication betweenthe controller 7 and the stationary apparatus 3. In another embodiment,the controller 7 and the stationary apparatus 3 may be connected to eachother via a fixed line.

(Internal Configuration of Stationary Apparatus 3)

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, an internal configuration of thestationary apparatus 3 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagramshowing a configuration of the stationary apparatus 3. The stationaryapparatus 3 includes a CPU 10, a system LSI 11, an external main memory12, a ROM/RTC 13, a disc drive 14, an AV-IC 15, and the like.

The CPU 10 executes the game process by causing the game program storedin the optical disc 4 to be executed, and functions as a game processor.The CPU 10 is connected to the system LSI 11. To the system LSI 11, inaddition to the CPU 10, the external main memory 12, the ROM/RTC 13, thedisc drive 14, and the AV-IC 15 are connected. The system LSI 11performs processing such as control of data transmission amongrespective component parts connected thereto, generation of an image tobe displayed, and acquisition of data from an external apparatus. Aninternal configuration of the system LSI will be described later. Theexternal main memory 12, which is of a volatile type, stores programssuch as a game program read from the optical disc 4 or from a flashmemory, and other various data. The external main memory 12 is used as awork area and a buffer space for the CPU 10. The ROM/RTC 13 includes aROM (so-called a boot ROM) incorporating a program for starting up thegame apparatus 3, and a clock circuit (RTC: Real Time Clock) forcounting time. The disc drive 14 reads program data, texture data andthe like from the optical disc 4, and writes the read data into aninternal main memory 11 e, which is described later, or into theexternal main memory 12.

Further, provided to the system LSI 11 are an input/output (I/O)processor 11 a, a GPU (Graphics Processor Unit) 11 b, a DSP (DigitalSignal Processor) 11 c, a VRAM 11 d, and the internal main memory 11 e.These component parts 11 a, 11 b, 11 c, 11 d, and 11 e are, though notshown in diagrams, connected to one another via an internal bus.

The GPU 11 b functions as a part of drawing means, and generates animage in accordance with a graphics command (draw command) from the CPU10. More specifically, the GPU 11 b generates game image data byperforming, in accordance with the graphics command, calculationprocessing, which is necessary to display 3D graphics, such ascoordinate conversion from 3D coordinates to 2D coordinates, whichcorresponds to processing before rendering, and final renderingprocessing including texture pasting and the like. Here, in addition tothe graphics command, the CPU 10 provides an image generation program,which is necessary to generate the game image data, to the GPU 11 b. TheVRAM 11 d stores data (such as polygon data and texture data) necessaryfor the GPU 11 b to execute the graphics command. For generating animage, the GPU 11 b uses the data stored in the VRAM 11 d, therebygenerating the image data.

The DSP 11 c functions as an audio processor, and generates audio databy using sound data and sound waveform (tone quality) data stored in theinternal main memory 11 e and the external main memory 12. Further, aswith the external main memory 12, the internal main memory 11 e may beused to store programs and various data, or may be used as the work areaor the buffer space for the CPU 10.

The image data and the audio data generated as above described are readby the AV-IC 15. The AV-IC 15 outputs the read image data to thetelevision 2 via an AV connector 16, and also outputs the read audiodata to loudspeakers 2 a embedded in the television 2. Accordingly, theimage is displayed on the television 2, and the sound is outputted fromthe loudspeakers 2 a.

The I/O processor 11 a executes data transmission with component partsconnected thereto and also executes data downloading from an externalapparatus. The I/O processor 11 a is connected to the flash memory 17, awireless communication module 18, a wireless controller module 19, anextension connector 20, and an external memory card connector 21. Anantenna 22 is connected to the wireless communication module 18, and anantenna 23 is connected to the wireless controller module 19.

The I/O processor 11 a is connected to a network via the wirelesscommunication module 18 and the antenna 22, and is capable ofcommunicating with another game apparatus and various servers connectedto the network. The I/O processor 11 a accesses the flash memory 17 atregular intervals so as to detect data, if any, which is necessary to betransmitted to the network. If the data is detected, the detected datais transmitted to the network via the wireless communication module 18and the antenna 22. Further, the I/O processor 11 a receives datatransmitted from the other game apparatuses, and data and a game programdownloaded from a download server via the network, the antenna 22 andthe wireless communication module 18, and stores the received data andthe game program in the flash memory 17. The CPU 10 executes the gameprogram stored in the flash memory 17 or the optical disc 4, reads thedata stored in the flash memory 17, and causes the game program to usethe read data. In the flash memory 17, not only data transmitted betweenthe stationary apparatus 3 and the other game apparatuses or variousservers, but also saved data of a game (result data or midstream data ofthe game) played by using the stationary apparatus 3 may be stored.

Further, the I/O processor 11 a receives the operation data, which istransmitted from the controller 7, via the antenna 23 and the wirelesscontroller module 19, and (temporarily) stores the operation data in theinternal main memory 11 e or in the buffer space of the external mainmemory 12.

Further, the extension connector 20 and the external memory cardconnector 21 are connected to the I/O processor 11 a. The extensionconnector 20 is an interface connector as typified by a USB and an SCSI,and is capable of performing communication with the network, instead ofthe wireless communication module 18, by connecting thereto a mediumsuch as an external storage medium, a peripheral device such as anothercontroller, or a wired communication connector. The external memory cardconnector 21 is a connector for connecting thereto the external storagemedium such as a memory card. For example, the I/O processor 11 aaccesses the external storage medium via the extension connector 20 orthe external memory card connector 21, and then saves data or readsdata.

Provided to the stationary apparatus 3 are a power button 24, a resetbutton 25, an eject button 26. The power button 24 and the reset button25 are connected to the system LSI 11. When the power button 24 isturned on, the power is supplied to the respective component parts ofthe stationary apparatus 3 via an AC adapter which is not shown.Further, when the power button 24 is pressed again while the power ison, the state of the stationary apparatus 3 shifts to a low-powerstandby mode. Since the power is supplied to the stationary apparatus 3even in such a state, the stationary apparatus 3 can be constantlyconnected to the network such as the Internet. In the case of turningoff the power after the power is turned on, the power can be turned offby holding the power button 24 down for a predetermined time period orlonger. When the reset button 25 is pressed, the system LSI 11reactivates a start-up program of the stationary apparatus 3. The ejectbutton 26 is connected to the disc drive 14. When the eject button 26 ispressed, the optical disc 4 is ejected from the disc drive 14.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the controller 7 will bedescribed. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the controller 7 as viewedfrom a top rear side thereof. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of thecontroller 7 as viewed from a button front side thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the controller 7 includes a housing 71, andan operation section 72 composed of a plurality of operation buttonsprovided on the surface of the housing 71. The housing 71 of the presentembodiment has a substantially parallelepiped shape extending in alongitudinal direction from front to rear, and an overall size thereofis small enough to be held by one hand of an adult or even a child. Thehousing is formed by, for example, plastic molding.

At a front center portion of a top surface of the housing 71, a crosskey 72 a is provided. The cross key 72 a is a cross-shapedfour-direction push switch, and the operation portions thereof arerespectively located on cross-shaped projecting portions arranged atintervals of 90 degrees such that the operation portions correspond tofour directions (front, rear, right and left). A player selects one ofthe front, rear, right, and left directions by pressing one of theoperation portions of the cross key 72 a. Through an operation of thecross key 72 a, the player can, for example, indicate a direction inwhich a player character or the like appearing in a virtual game worldis to move, or select an instruction from a plurality of choices.

The cross key 72 a is an operation section for outputting an operationsignal in accordance with the direction input operation performed by theplayer as above described, and such an operation section may be providedin another form. For example, the operation section may be such thatfour push switches are arranged in the cross directions and an operationsignal is outputted by the player's pressing one of the four pushswitches. Further, in addition to the four push switches, a centerswitch may be provided at a crossing position of the above-describedcross directions so as to provide an operation section composed of thefour push switches and the center switch. Alternatively, the cross key72 a may be replaced with an operation section which includes aninclinable stick (so called a joystick) projecting from the top surfaceof the housing 71 and which outputs the operation signal in accordancewith an inclining direction of the stick. Still alternatively, the crosskey 72 a may be replaced with an operation section which includes adisc-shaped member horizontally slidable and which outputs an operationsignal in accordance with an sliding direction of the disc-shapedmember. Still alternatively, the cross key 72 a may be replaced with atouchpad.

Behind the cross key 72 a on the top surface of the housing 71, aplurality of operation buttons 72 b, 72 c, 72 d, 72 e, 72 f and 72 g areprovided. The operation buttons 72 b, 72 c, 72 d, 72 e, 72 f and 72 gare each an operation section for outputting an operation signalassigned thereto when the player presses a head thereof. For example,functions such as a NO. 1 button, a NO. 2 button, an A button and thelike are assigned to the operation buttons 72 b, 72 c and 72 d. Further,functions such as a minus button, a home button, a plus button and thelike are assigned to the operation buttons 72 e, 72 f and 72 g. Variousoperation functions are assigned to these operation buttons 72 a, 72 b,72 c, 72 d, 72 e, 72 f and 72 g in accordance with the game programexecuted by the stationary apparatus 3. In an exemplary arrangementshown in FIG. 3, the operation buttons 72 b, 72 c and 72 d are arrangedin a line at the center in a front-rear direction on the top surface ofthe housing 71. Further, the operation buttons 72 e, 72 f and 72 g arearranged in a line on the top surface of the housing 71 in a left-rightdirection between the operation buttons 72 b and 72 d. The operationbutton 72 f has a top surface thereof buried in the top surface of thehousing 71, so as not to be inadvertently pressed by the player.

In front of the cross key 72 a on the top surface of the housing 71, anoperation button 72 h is provided. The operation button 72 h is a powerswitch for turning on and off the power to the stationary apparatus 3 byremote control. The operation button 72 h also has a top surface thereofburied in the top surface of the housing 71, so as not to beinadvertently pressed by the player.

Behind the operation button 72 c on the top surface of the housing 71, aplurality of LEDs 702 is provided. A controller type (number) isassigned to the controller 7 such that the controller 7 isdistinguishable from another controller 7. Here, the LEDs 702 are usedfor, for example, informing the player about the controller typecurrently set for the controller 7. Specifically, when the controller 7transmits transmission data to the game apparatus 3, one of theplurality of LEDs 702 which corresponds to the controller type of thecontroller 7 is lit up.

On the top surface of the housing 71, loudspeaker holes for emitting asound from a loudspeaker (a loudspeaker 706 shown in FIG. 6), which isdescribed later, are formed between the operation button 72 b and theoperation buttons 72 e, 72 f and 72 g.

On a bottom surface of the housing 71, a recessed portion is formed. Asdescribed later in detail, the recessed portion on the bottom surface ofthe housing 71 is formed in a position in which an index finger ormiddle finger of the player is located when the player holds thecontroller 7 with one hand and points a front portion thereof to themarkers 8L and 8R. On a slope surface of the recessed portion, anoperation button 72 i is provided. The operation button 72 i is anoperation section acting as, for example, a B button.

On a front surface of the housing 71, an image pickup element 743constituting a part of an imaging information calculation section 74 isprovided. The imaging information calculation section 74 is a systemwhich analyzes image data picked up by the controller 7, identifies anarea having a high brightness in the image, and detects a position of agravity center, a size and the like of the area. The imaging informationcalculation section 74 has, for example, a maximum sampling period ofabout 200 frames/sec., and thus can trace and analyze even a relativelyfast motion of the controller 7. A configuration of the imaginginformation calculation section 74 will be described later in detail. Ona rear surface of the housing 71, a connector 73 is provided. Theconnector 73 is, for example, an edge connector, and is used forcoupling and connecting the controller with a connection cable.

For the sake of a specific description, a coordinate system set for thecontroller 7 will be defined. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an x-axis, ay-axis and z-axis respectively running at right angles to one anotherare defined with respect to the controller 7. Specifically, the z-axisrepresents a longitudinal direction of the housing 71, which correspondsto the front-rear direction of the controller 7, and direction on theside of the front surface (a surface on which the imaging informationcalculation section 74 is provided) of the controller 7 is set as az-axis positive direction. Further, the y-axis represents an up-downdirection of the controller 7, and direction on the side of the topsurface of the housing 71 (a surface on which the operation button 72 ais provided) is set as a y-axis positive direction. Still further, thex-axis represents the left-right direction of the controller 7, and adirection on the left side (a side which is not shown in FIG. 3, butshown in FIG. 4) of the housing 71 is set as an x-axis positivedirection.

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, an internal structure of the controller7 will be described. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the controller 7 ina state where an upper housing (a part of the housing 71) of thecontroller 7 is removed. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the controller7 in a state where a lower housing (a part of the housing 71) isremoved. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a substrate 700 as viewed froma reverse side of the substrate 700 shown in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 5, the substrate 700 is fixed inside the housing 71.Provided on a top main surface of the substrate 700 are the operationbuttons 72 a, 72 b, 72 c, 72 d, 72 e, 72 f, 72 g and 72 h, anacceleration sensor 701, the LEDs 702, an antenna 754 and the like.These elements are connected to a microcomputer 751 or the like (seeFIGS. 6 and 7) by lines (not shown) formed on the substrate 700 or thelike. The microcomputer 751 functions as exemplary button datageneration means of the present invention, and generates operationbutton data corresponding to the type of the operation button 72 a orthe like. This function is a technique in the public domain, andrealized by the microcomputer 751 detecting connection/disconnection oflines which is caused by a switch mechanism such as a tactile switchlocated at a lower side of a key top. More specifically, when theoperation button is pressed, for example, the lines are connected, andconsequently energized. The microcomputer 751 detects the lines whichare energized, and generates a signal corresponding to the type of theoperation button.

The wireless module 753 (see FIG. 7) and the antenna 754, which are notshown, allow the controller 7 to act as a wireless controller. A quartzoscillator, which is not shown, is provided in an inside of the housing71, and generates a reference clock of the microcomputer 751 describedlater. On the top main surface of the substrate 700, the loudspeaker 706and an amplifier 708 are provided. The acceleration sensor 701 isprovided at the left side of the operation button 72 d on the substrate700 (that is, at a peripheral portion, instead of a center portion, onthe substrate 700). Accordingly, the acceleration sensor 701 can detect,in accordance with a rotation centering on the longitudinal direction ofthe controller 7, acceleration caused by a centrifugal force element aswell as directional variation in gravitational acceleration.Accordingly, the stationary apparatus 3 and the like can detect, fromthe detected acceleration data, the rotation of the controller 7 highlysensitively in accordance with a predetermined calculation.

As shown in FIG. 6, at a front edge of a bottom main surface of thesubstrate 700, the imaging information calculation section 74 isprovided. The imaging information calculation section 74 includes aninfrared filter 741, a lens 742, the image pickup element 743, and animage processing circuit 744 which are located in this order from thefront side of the controller 7. These elements are attached to thebottom main surface of the substrate 700. At a rear edge of the bottommain surface of the substrate 700, the connector 73 is attached.Further, on the bottom main surface of the substrate 700, a sound IC707, and the microcomputer 751 are provided. The sound IC 707 isconnected to the microcomputer 751 and the amplifier 708 by lines formedon the substrate 700 or the like, and outputs an audio signal to theloudspeaker 706 via the amplifier 708 in accordance with the sound datatransmitted from the stationary apparatus 3.

On the bottom main surface of the substrate 700, a vibrator 704 isattached. The vibrator 704 may be, for example, a vibration motor or asolenoid. The vibrator 704 is connected to the microcomputer 751 via thelines formed on the substrate 700 and the like, and is turned on/off inaccordance with vibration data transmitted from the stationary apparatus3. The controller 7 is vibrated when the vibrator 704 is turned on, andvibration is conveyed to the player holding the controller 7. Thus,so-called a vibration-feedback game is realized. The vibrator 704 islocated at a relatively front side of the housing 71, and thus thehousing 71 vibrates to a large extent while the player is holding thehousing 71, whereby the player feels vibration sensitively.

With reference to FIG. 7, an internal configuration of the controller 7will be described. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration ofthe controller 7.

As shown in FIG. 7, the controller 7 includes thereinside acommunication section 75, in addition to the operation section 72, theimaging information calculation section 74, the acceleration sensor 701,the vibrator 704, the loudspeaker 706, the sound IC 707 and theamplifier 708 which are described as above.

The imaging information calculation section 74 includes the infraredfilter 741, the lens 742, the image pickup element 743, and the imageprocessing circuit 744. The infrared filter 741 allows only an infraredradiation in the light incident on the front side of the controller 7 topass therethrough. The lens 742 converges the infrared radiation whichhas passed through the infrared filter 741, and outputs the infraredradiation to the image pickup element 743. The image pickup element 743is a solid-state image pickup element such as a CMOS sensor or a CCD,and picks up an image of the infrared radiation converted by the lens742. In other words, the image pickup element 743 picks up the image ofonly the infrared radiation having passed through the infrared filter741, and generates image data. The image data generated by the imagepickup element 743 is processed by the image processing circuit 744.Specifically, the image processing circuit 744 processes the image dataobtained from the image pickup element 743 and detects a high brightnessposition thereof, and outputs, to the communication section 75, aprocess result data indicative of a result of the detection of aposition coordinate point and an area of the high brightness position.The imaging information calculation section 74 is fixed on the housing71 of the controller 7, and an imaging direction of the housing 71 canbe changed by changing the orientation of the housing 71. As will bedescribed later, in accordance with the process result data outputtedfrom the imaging information calculation section 74, a signalcorresponding to a position or motion of the controller 7 can beobtained.

It is preferable that the controller 7 includes triaxial (x, y, andx-axes) acceleration sensor 701. The triaxial acceleration sensor 701detects linear acceleration in three directions, i.e., an up-downdirection, a left-right direction, and a front-rear direction. Further,in another embodiment, a biaxial accelerometer may be used which detectslinear acceleration in the up-down direction and the left-rightdirection or any other paired direction) depending on a type of acontrol signal to be used for a game process. For example, the triaxialor biaxial acceleration sensor 701 may be of a type available fromAnalog Devices, Inc. or ST Microelectronics N.V. The acceleration sensor701 may be of an electrostatic capacitance (capacitance-coupling) typewhich is based on silicon micro-machined MEMS (Micro Electro MechanicalSystems) technology. Any other suitable accelerometer technology (e.g.,piezoelectronic type or piezoresistance type) now existing or to bedeveloped later may be used to provide the triaxial or biaxialacceleration sensor 701.

As one skilled in the art understands, accelerometers, as used in theacceleration sensor 701, are only capable of detecting accelerationalong a straight line (linear acceleration) corresponding to each axisof the acceleration sensor. In other words, a direct output from theacceleration sensor 701 is limited to signals indicative of linearacceleration (static or dynamic) along the respective two or three axesthereof. As a result, the acceleration sensor 701 cannot detect motion,rotation, rotational motion, angular displacement, tilt, position,posture or any other physical characteristics along a non-linear (e.g.,arcuate) path.

However, through processing by a computer such as a processor of a gameapparatus (e.g., a CPU 10), or a processor of a controller (e.g., themicrocomputer 751), in accordance with the acceleration signalsoutputted from the acceleration sensor 701, additional informationrelating to the controller 7 can be inferred or calculated (determined),as one skilled in the art will readily understand from the descriptionherein. For example, in the case where processing is performed by acomputer on the assumption that a controller accommodating theacceleration sensor is in a static state (that is, in the case where itis only gravitational acceleration that is to be detected by theacceleration sensor), it is possible to understand whether or not, or towhat extent, the controller is tilted toward the gravity direction inaccordance with the detected acceleration as long as the controller isactually in a static state. Specifically, if a state where an axis to bedetected by the acceleration sensor is facing vertically downwarddirection is set as a standard state, it is possible to find out whetheror not the axis to be detected is tilted depending on whether or not 1G(gravitational acceleration) is exerted, and also possible to find outthe degree of tilt of the axis to be detected depending on the magnitudeof the acceleration. Further, in the case of a multi-axial accelerationsensor, it is possible to find out, in detail, the degree of tilt ofeach of the axes with respect to the gravity direction by processing theacceleration signal along each of the axes. In this case, the processormay calculate data of a tilt angle of the controller 7 in accordancewith the output from the acceleration sensor 701, or alternatively, mayinfer an approximate tilt angle in accordance with the output from theacceleration sensor 701 without calculating data of the tilt angle. Inthis manner, by using the acceleration sensor 701 and the processor in acombined manner, it is possible to identify the tilt, the posture, andthe position of the controller 7. On the other hand, in the case whereit is assumed that the acceleration sensor is in a dynamic state,acceleration corresponding to the motion of the acceleration sensor canbe detected, in addition to the gravitational acceleration element.Accordingly, if the gravitational acceleration element is removedthrough predetermined processing, it is possible to calculate a motiondirection and the like of the controller 7. Specifically, in the casewhere the controller 7 including the acceleration sensor 701 isdynamically accelerated and moved by a hand of a user, various motionand/or positions of the controller 7 can be calculated by processing theacceleration signal generated by the acceleration sensor 701. Even inthe case where it is assumed that the acceleration sensor is in thedynamic state, it is possible to calculate a tilt with respect to thegravity direction if the acceleration corresponding to the motion of theacceleration sensor is removed through the predetermined processing. Inanother embodiment, the acceleration sensor 701 may include a built-intype signal processing apparatus or a dedicated processing apparatus ofany other type so as to desirably process the acceleration signaloutputted from an embedded accelerometer before outputted to themicrocomputer 751. For example, in the case where the accelerationsensor is designed to detect static acceleration (e.g., gravitationalacceleration), the built-in type or the dedicated processing apparatusmay convert the detected acceleration signal into a tilt angle (or anyother desirable parameter) corresponding thereto.

In another embodiment, as a motion sensor for detecting the motion ofthe controller 7, a gyro-sensor incorporating, for example, a rotatingor vibrating element may be used. An exemplary MEMS gyro-sensor that maybe used in the present embodiment is available from Analog Devices, Inc.Unlike the acceleration sensor 701, the gyro-sensor is capable ofdirectly detecting rotation (or rotation rate) around an axis of atleast one gyroscopic element embedded therein. Thus, due to fundamentaldifferences between a gyro-sensor and an acceleration sensor, processingperformed on the output signal from these devices needs to be changed asappropriate, depending on which device is selected for a particularapplication.

Specifically, a significant change is performed in the case where thetilt and the posture are calculated by using the gyro-sensor instead ofthe acceleration sensor. That is, in the case of using the gyro-sensor,a value of the tilt is initialized at the time of starting detection.The angular rate data outputted from the gyro-sensor is then integrated.Variation in tilt from the initialized value of the tilt is calculated.In this case, the tilt to be calculated corresponds to a value of anangle. On the other hand, in the case where the tilt is calculated bythe acceleration sensor, the tilt is calculated by comparing values ofrespective axes elements of the gravitational acceleration topredetermined standards corresponding thereto, respectively.Accordingly, the tilt to be calculated can be represented by a vector,and thus an absolute direction detected by the accelerometer can bedetected without performing initialization. Further, a type of the valuedetected as the tilt is represented by the angle in the case of usingthe gyro-sensor, and is represented by the vector, on the other hand, inthe case of using the acceleration sensor. Therefore, in the case ofusing the gyro-sensor instead of the acceleration sensor, the tilt dataneeds to be converted in an appropriate manner, in consideration of thedifference between the two devices. Since characteristics of thegyro-sensor as well as fundamental differences between the accelerometerand the gyro-sensor are well known by the one skilled in the art,further description thereof will be omitted. On the one hand, thegyro-sensor has the advantage of being capable of directly detectingrotation. On the other hand, the acceleration sensor is generally acost-effective option as compared to the gyro-sensor when used for thecontroller of the present embodiment.

The communication section 75 includes the microcomputer 751, a memory752, a wireless module 753, and the antenna 754. The microcomputer 751controls the wireless module 753 for wirelessly transmitting thetransmission data while using the memory 752 as a storage area at thetime of processing. Further, the microcomputer 751 controls operationsof the sound IC 707 and the vibrator 704 in accordance with the datareceived by the wireless module 753 from the stationary apparatus 3 viathe antenna 754. The sound IC 707 processes the sound data and the liketransmitted from the stationary apparatus 3 via the communicationsection 75. Further, the microcomputer 751 actuates the vibrator 704 inaccordance with the vibration data (e.g., a signal for turning thevibrator 704 ON or OFF) and the like which is transmitted from thestationary apparatus 3 via the communication section 75.

Data from the controller 7 such as an operational signal (key data) fromthe operation section 72, an acceleration signal (x, y, and z-axesdirectional acceleration data, hereinafter simply referred to asacceleration data) from the acceleration sensor 701, and the processresult data from the imaging information calculation section 74 areoutputted to the microcomputer 751. The microcomputer 751 temporarilystores the inputted data (the key data, the acceleration data, and theprocess result data) in the memory 752 as the transmission data to betransmitted to the wireless controller module 19. The wirelesstransmission from the communication section 75 to the wirelesscontroller module 19 is performed at predetermined time intervals. Sincethe game process is generally performed at an interval of 1/60 sec., thewireless transmission needs to be performed at an interval of a shortertime period. Specifically, the game process is performed at an intervalof 16.7 ms ( 1/60 sec.), and a transmission interval of thecommunication section 75 which is composed of the Bluetooth (registeredtrademark) is 5 ms, for example. At a timing of performing atransmission to the wireless controller module 19, the microcomputer 751outputs the transmission data stored in the memory 752 to the wirelessmodule 753 as a series of pieces of operation information. Based on theBluetooth (registered trademark) technology, for example, the wirelessmodule 753 modulates the operation information by using a carrier wavehaving a predetermined frequency, and emits the modulated radio signalfrom the antenna 754. Thus, the key data from the operation section, theacceleration data from the acceleration sensor 701, and the processresult data from the imaging information calculation section 74, whichare all data from the controller 7, are modulated by the wireless module753 into the radio signal and transmitted from the controller 7. Theradio signal is received by the wireless controller module 19 of thestationary apparatus 3, and the radio signal is then demodulated ordecoded by the stationary apparatus 3, whereby the series of pieces ofoperation information (the key data, the acceleration data, and theprocess result data) are obtained. The CPU 10 of the stationaryapparatus 3 performs the game process in accordance with the obtainedoperation information and the game program. In the case where thecommunication section 75 is configured by using the Bluetooth(registered trademark) technology, the communication section 75 may alsohave a function of receiving transmission data which is wirelesslytransmitted from other devices.

(Configuration of the Hand-Held Game Apparatus 40)

FIG. 9 is an external diagram of the hand-held apparatus 40 according toone embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, thehand-held apparatus 40 includes a first LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 41,and a second LCD 42. A housing 43 thereof is composed of an upperhousing 43 a and a lower housing 43 b. The first LCD 41 is accommodatedin the upper housing 43 a, and the second LCD 42 is accommodated in thelower housing 43 b. Each of the first LCD 41 and the second LCD 42 has aresolution of 256 dots×192 dots. Although an LCD is used as a displaydevice in the present embodiment, any other display device, for example,a display device using an EL (Electro Luminescence), may be used.Further, the resolution may be arbitrarily chosen.

On the upper housing 43 a, provided are loudspeaker holes 61 a and 61 bfor outputting a sound from a pair of loudspeakers (60 a and 60 b shownin FIG. 10) described later.

On the hinge section which connects the upper housing 43 a and thehousing 43 b in a foldable manner, microphone holes 67 are provided.

On the lower housing 43 b, provided as input devices are a cross key 44a, a start switch 44 b, a select switch 44 c, an A button 44 d, a Bbutton 44 e, an X button 44 f, and a Y button 44 g. At the top leftcorner part of the lower housing 43 d, an L button 44 h is provided. Atthe top right corner part of the lower housing 43 d, an R button 44 i isprovided. Further, as an additional input device, the second LCD 42 hasa touch panel 45 mounted on a screen thereof. To a surface of the touchpanel 45, a guiding frame 34 is attached. Provided to the lower housing43 b are a power switch 49, an insertion slot for accommodating a memorycard 47, and a receptacle for accommodating a stylus pen 46.

The touch panel 45 is a resistive film type touch panel. Note that, inthe present invention, not only the resistive film type, but also agiven pressing type touch panel may be used. The touch panel 45 can becontrolled not only with the stylus pen 46, but also with a finger of auser. In the present embodiment, the touch panel 45 has a resolution(detection accuracy) of 256 dots×192 dots, similar to the resolution ofthe second LCD 42. However, the touch panel 45 does not necessarily havethe same resolution as the second LCD 42.

The memory card 47 is a storage medium having a game program storedtherein, and is detachably inserted into the insertion slot provided tothe lower housing 43 b.

Next, with reference to FIG. 10, an internal configuration of thehand-held game apparatus 40 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 10, an electronic circuit substrate 50 accommodated inthe housing 43 has a CPU core 51 mounted therein. The CPU core 51 isconnected, via a bus 52, to a connector 53, I/O interface circuit(denoted as an I/F circuit in the diagram) 55, a first GPU (GraphicsProcessing Unit) 56, a second GPU 57, a RAM 54, an LCD controller 61,and a wireless communication section 63. The memory card 47 isdetachably connected to the connector 53. The memory card 47 has mountedtherein a ROM 47 a for storing therein the game program and a RAM 47 bfor rewritably storing therein backup data. The game program stored inthe ROM 47 a of the memory card 47 is loaded into the RAM 54, and thegame program loaded into the RAM 54 is executed by the CPU core 51. Inaddition to the game program, temporary data which is obtained by theCPU core 51 executing the game program and data for generating a gameimage are stored in the RAM 54. Connected to the I/F circuit 55 are thetouch panel 45, the right loudspeaker 60 a, the left loudspeaker 60 b,an operation switch section 44 including the cross key 44 a shown inFIG. 1, the A button 44 d and the like, and a microphone 66. The rightloudspeaker 60 a and the left loudspeaker 60 b are respectively placedinside the loudspeaker holes 61 a and 61 b. The microphone 66 is placedinside the microphone holes 67.

The first GPU 56 is connected to a first VRAM (Video RAM) 58. The secondGPU 57 is connected to a second VRAM 59. In response to an instructionfrom the CPU core 51, the first GPU 56 generates a first game image, andwrites the first game image into the first VRAM 58 in accordance withdata for generating the game image stored in the RAM 54. In a similarmanner, in response to the instruction from the CPU core 51, the secondGPU 57 generates a second game image and writes the second game imageinto the second VRAM 59. The first VRAM 58 and the second VRAM 59 areeach connected to the LCD controller 51.

The LCD controller 61 includes a register 62. The register 62 stores avalue “0” or “1” in accordance with an instruction from the CPU core 51.In the case where the value of the register 62 is 0, the LCD controller61 outputs the first game image having been written into the first VRAM58 to the first LCD 41, and outputs the second game image having beenwritten into the second VRAM 59 to the second LCD 42. In the case wherethe value of the register 62 is 1, the LCD controller 61 outputs thefirst game image having been written into the first VRAM 58 to thesecond LCD 42, and outputs the second game image having been writteninto the second VRAM 59 to the first LCD 41.

The wireless communication section 63 has a function of exchanging,among wireless communication sections of the stationary apparatus 3 andthe other hand-held apparatuses 40, data used for the game process andother data.

The present invention is not only applicable to the game apparatus, butalso applicable to any apparatus having a pressing type touch panelsupported by a housing. For example, the present invention may beapplied to a hand-held game apparatus, a controller of a stationary gameapparatus, and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). Further, the presentinvention is also applicable to an input device which does not have adisplay placed under the touch panel.

Next, an overview of a game assumed in the present embodiment will bedescribed. First, introduction (a providing form) of cooperative musicplaying game software to respective apparatuses in the presentembodiment will be described. The cooperative music playing gamesoftware executed on the stationary apparatus 3 (hereinafter referred toas “cooperative music play software for stationary apparatus”) isdownloaded from a predetermined server, and stored in the flash memory17. The software is executed on the stationary apparatus 3, whereby thecooperative music playing game of the present embodiment can be played.The cooperative music play software for stationary apparatus having beendownloaded as above described includes a cooperative music playing gameprogram for the hand-held apparatuses 40, which will be described later.In the present embodiment, the cooperative music playing game program isdistributed to some of the hand-held apparatuses 40. Hereinafter thecooperative music playing game program is referred to as a “distributionprogram”. Further, the cooperative music play software for stationaryapparatus includes sounds (audio data) of various musical instrumentsused for playing a musical composition, but does not include data of themusical composition to be played (musical composition data) as describedlater.

On the other hand, the cooperative music playing game software executedon the hand-held apparatuses 40 is provided in two forms. That is, thecooperative music playing game software is provided either in the formof the memory card 47, or by being downloaded from the stationaryapparatus 3. The software provided in the form of the memory card 47 isconfigured so as to be played with a single apparatus (for a single gameplayer). Further, data (musical score data or the like) of a musicalcomposition to be played is also stored as a part of the software in thememory card 47. The memory card 47 having the cooperative music playinggame software stored therein is inserted into the hand-held gameapparatus 40, and the hand-held game apparatus 40 is actuated, wherebythe cooperative music playing game software (hereinafter referred to asa packaged cooperative music play software) is executed.

In the other providing form, the above-described distribution program isdownloaded from the stationary apparatus 3. The distribution program isexecuted on the hand-held apparatus 40 into which the above-describedmemory card 47 is not inserted. The distribution program is used only inthe cooperative music playing game process according to the presentembodiment, and cannot be used for playing by a single player or with asingle apparatus.

That is, there are two types of hand-held apparatuses 40. One is thehand-held apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a “leader apparatus”)into which the memory card 47 is inserted so as to execute the gameprogram (the packaged cooperative music play software). The other is thehand-held apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a “member apparatus”)into which the memory card 47 is not inserted, and in which thedistribution program is executed by downloading the same from thestationary apparatus 3.

With reference to FIG. 11, an overview of a flow of the cooperativemusic playing game process in the present embodiment will be described.As shown in FIG. 11, first of all, connection processing for connectingthe stationary apparatus 3, the leader apparatus, and the memberapparatus to one another is performed (step S1). In the processing,connection information is exchanged among the apparatuses, and acommunication path centering on the stationary apparatus 3 isestablished.

When the communication path has been established, preparation processingis executed (step S2). In the processing, preparation for executing thecooperative music playing game is performed. Specifically, processingfor downloading the distribution program into the member apparatuses,for transmitting musical composition data to be played cooperatively,and for determining parts to be played by respective players isperformed.

Upon completion of the preparation processing, cooperative playingprocessing is performed while respective game apparatuses aresynchronized with one another (step S3). In the processing, a pluralityof direction signs (such as note header 107 described later) forindicating contents of operations to be played by respective players isdisplayed on respective screens of the leader apparatus and the memberapparatus. Each of the players performs an operation to play each of theparts of a musical composition in accordance with the directional signsdisplayed on the screen of the hand-held apparatus 40 held by each ofthe players. Operation data of each of the players is transmitted to thestationary apparatus 3. In the present embodiment, the game process isperformed at the interval of 1/60 sec. Therefore, in the presentembodiment, the operation data is transmitted at an interval of 1/60sec. In the stationary apparatus 3, in accordance with the operationdata, processing for outputting a sound from the stationary apparatus 3is performed. As a result, the sound (cooperative play sounds) havingreflected therein the operation performed by each of the players isoutputted from the loudspeakers of the television 2 connected to thestationary apparatus 3

Next, a flow of the present cooperative music playing game will bedescribed in detail by illustrating an exemplary screen transition. FIG.12 is a diagram showing an exemplary game screen transition assumed inthe present embodiment.

A flow of the game in the above-described connection processing (step S1shown in FIG. 11) will be described. As shown in FIG. 12, in thestationary apparatus 3, the cooperative music play software forstationary apparatus which has been downloaded from a predeterminedserver is started up. The connection guidance screen (G1) is thendisplayed on the television 2. An operation guidance is displayed in thescreen for each of the leader apparatus and the member apparatus. Forexample, a message stating “if you have a game card, select ‘cooperativeplay” from the menu”. If you do not have the game card, select ‘downloadplay’” and the like is displayed.

After the above-described operation guidance screen is displayed, thepackaged cooperative music play software which is stored in the memorycard 47 is started up in the leader apparatus. A game mode selectionscreen is then displayed on the second LCD 42 (G2). In the screen, aplayer can select not only a multiple-player play, but also asingle-player play. A player holding the leader apparatus selects themultiple-player play from the game mode selection screen. The processing(connection processing) for establishing connection between the leaderapparatus and the stationary apparatus is then performed. A connectionprocessing screen indicative of being connecting is displayed until theconnection processing is completed (G3).

On the other hand, in the case of the member apparatus, after theabove-described operation guidance screen is displayed, the player turnson the power of the member apparatus. A start-up menu is displayed on ascreen of the member apparatus (G4). From the start-up menu, the playercan select a “download play” for downloading a program from another gameapparatus and executing the same, a “setting” for performing varioussettings (such as a time setting) of the hand-held apparatus 40, and thelike. The player selects the “download play” in the screen. Processing(the connection processing) for establishing connection between themember apparatus and the stationary apparatus 3 is then performed. Theconnection processing screen indicative of being connecting is displayeduntil the connection processing is completed (G5).

A flow of the game in the above-described preparation processing (stepS2 shown in FIG. 11) will be described. The preparation processing isgenerally divided into four types of processing, i.e., processing fordownloading the distribution program, entry processing, musicalcomposition selection processing, and part selection processing. Whenthe above-described connection processing is completed, the processingfor downloading the distribution program from the stationary apparatus 3is performed in the member apparatus. Until the downloading iscompleted, a screen indicative of being downloaded (G6) is displayed.Although not shown in the diagram, a screen indicating that the memberapparatus is performing downloading may be displayed in the leaderapparatus or the stationary apparatus 3.

When downloading of the distribution program has been completed, thedistribution program is started up in the member apparatus, and a startup screen (G7) is displayed. Subsequently, in accordance with anoperation performed by the player, an entry screen (G8) is displayed.The entry screen allows the player to enter the cooperative musicplaying game. Specifically, the player performs operations for inputtinghis/her name (or nickname) and transferring the same to the stationaryapparatus 3, thereby completing the entry. At approximately the sametiming as this, a similar entry screen (G9) is displayed in the leaderapparatus. In the stationary apparatus 3, a screen (G10) for displayingthe number of players having been entered is displayed.

When the entry has been completed, the musical composition selectionprocessing is performed to select a musical composition to be playedcooperatively. Selection of the musical composition is performed on theleader apparatus. Specifically, on the leader apparatus, a list ofmusical compositions is displayed on the screen (G11). At this moment,in each of the stationary apparatus 3 and the member apparatus, astandby screen (G12, G13) is displayed.

The player of the leader apparatus selects a desired musical compositionfrom the list of the musical compositions displayed on the screen. Ascreen indicative of a musical composition being distributed (G14) isthen displayed. Musical composition data corresponding to the selectedmusical composition is read from the memory card 47, and thentransmitted to the stationary apparatus 3. The stationary apparatus 3receives the musical composition data transmitted from the leaderapparatus, and the musical composition data is stored in the memoryembedded in the stationary apparatus 3. The musical composition data isthen distributed from the stationary apparatus 3 to the memberapparatus. When the distribution of the musical composition data fromthe stationary apparatus 3 starts, a musical composition data receivingscreen (G15) is displayed, and processing for receiving the musicalcomposition data is performed in the member apparatus.

When the processing for receiving the musical composition data has beencompleted in the member apparatus, a part selection screen (G16, G17) isdisplayed in each of the leader apparatus and the member apparatus. Inthe screen, each player performs an operation to select a part of themusic composition to be taken charge of. FIG. 13 shows, in detail, apart selection screen. As shown in FIG. 13, in the first LCD 41,information 101 on the selected musical composition is displayed in adisk-like shape. In an example shown in FIG. 13, a title of the musicalcomposition and a name of an artist are displayed. In the second LCD 42,parts (names of the musical instruments) composing the musicalcomposition are listed. With respect to each of the parts, star(s) and a“PUSH” button 102 are displayed, and the number of the stars indicates adifficulty level of each of the musical instruments to be played. Eachof the players presses, on the touch panel, the “PUSH” button 102 ofapart which the player wishes to take charge of, thereby selecting thepart. With respect to the part selection, the part is selected on afirst-come-first-served basis, in the present embodiment. For example,if one player selects a part of “piano 1”, the information is promptlytransmitted to the hand-held apparatuses 40 held by the remainingplayers via the stationary apparatus 3. With respect to the selectedpart, a display indicating that the part has been selected is displayedon each of the hand-held apparatuses 40, and then the selected partbecomes unselectable. When each of the players has selected the part tobe played, the preparation processing is completed.

A flow of the cooperative playing processing of the game (step S3 ofFIG. 11) will be described. With reference back to FIG. 12, when thepreparation processing has been completed, and the start switch 44 b ispressed in the leader apparatus, a countdown screen (G18) is displayedin the stationary apparatus 3 so as to inform a start of the cooperativeplay of the musical composition. In the stationary apparatus 3, a screenindicative of being playing cooperatively (G19) is displayed thereafter.Further, also in each of the leader apparatus and the member apparatus,the screen indicative of being playing cooperatively (G20, G21) isdisplayed.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing, in detail, the above-described screenindicative of being playing cooperatively displayed in each of thehand-held apparatuses 40. As shown in FIG. 14, a musical score screen isdisplayed on the first LCD 41. On the second LCD 42, various pieces ofinformation such as the title and a scoring point of the musicalcomposition is displayed.

On the musical score screen displayed on the first LCD 41, four tracks105 each having one bar are arranged and displayed vertically. Thetracks 105 are scrolled up on the screen in accordance with the progressof the musical composition. Further, on the left side of each of thetracks, a light 106 is displayed. The track 105 whose lights 106 areblinking is a target track currently being played (operated).

Each of the tracks 105 is divided with vertical lines into four areas.Each of the areas represents one beat (a length of a quarter note). Onthe track 105, note header 107 indicative of a name of a button to beoperated by a player, and a note tail 108 indicating that the button iscontinuously pressed are displayed. The name of the button displayed atthe note header 107 is any one of the cross key 44 a, the A button 44 d,the B button 44 e, the X button 44 f, the Y button 44 g, the L button 44h, and the R button 44 i. Further, in the case of cross key 44 a, anyone of arrows indicating upward, downward, left, and right directionsare displayed. For example, when “A” is displayed at the note header107, the A button 44 d (see FIG. 9) is to be pressed. Further, when “←”is displayed, the left key of the cross key 44 a is to be pressed.

Here, it is assumed that the minimum unit of a sound length of thepresent cooperative music playing game is equivalent to a length of asixteenth note. That is, one note header 107 is equivalent to thesixteenth note. In accordance with a length of the note tail 108subsequent thereto (i.e., a combination of the note header 107 and thenote tail 108), an eighth note, a quarter note and the like areindicated.

Further, at upper and lower sides of the track 105, a cursor 110indicative of an operation position (i.e., a position of a musicalcomposition to be played) is displayed. The cursor 110 moves along thetrack 105 from left to right in accordance with the progress of themusical composition (and when the cursor reaches to the right edge, thecursor moves to the left edge of the next track). That is, the playerperforms an operation at a position where the cursor 110 is located onthe track 105 whose light 106 is blinking. In an example shown in FIG.14, the cursor 110 is located at a position of the note header 107 onwhich “B” is displayed. Therefore, the player needs to press the Bbutton 44 e at the timing shown in FIG. 14 (and keep pressing the Bbutton 44 e until the note tail 108 discontinues).

A predetermined sound scale is assigned to each of the buttons. Forexample, “so” is assigned to the A button 44 d, and “la” is assigned tothe B button 44 e. In the present embodiment, assignment of sound keys(sound key map) is previously defined in a cooperative playing program.The sound key map used in the stationary apparatus 3 is the same as thatused in the hand-held apparatus 40.

Further, in the present embodiment, in addition to the operations of thecross key 44 a and the like, a touch panel operation is performed duringplaying a musical composition. The touch panel operation is used, forexample, when a part of guitar is played. At the time of playing theguitar part, a player slides fingers of the player on the touch panel,whereby the player feels as if playing an actual guitar. Further, thetouch panel operation may be used in combination with the operations ofthe buttons.

In this manner, each of the players operates the buttons, in a timelymanner, in accordance with contents of the note header 107, the notetail 108, and the like displayed on each of the hand-held apparatuses40. The operation data indicative of the contents of the operations issuccessively transmitted to the stationary apparatus 3. In thestationary apparatus 3, processing for outputting a sound based on theoperation data is then performed. Accordingly, the sound (sound playedin a cooperative manner) having reflected therein the button operationof each of the players is outputted from the stationary apparatus.

With reference back to FIG. 12, when the cooperative playing processinghas been completed, a result screen (G22) is finally displayed on thetelevision 2. FIG. 15 shows an exemplary result screen. The screendisplays a scoring point of each of the players.

In this manner, in the present embodiment, the operation data of each ofthe hand-held apparatuses 40 is transmitted to the stationary apparatus3, and the sound outputting processing is performed in the stationaryapparatus 3. FIG. 16 schematically shows a principle of the processingaccording to the present invention. Compared to FIG. 33, which showsconventional processing, the number of pieces of processing performed,from the operation to the sound output, is less by 1, in FIG. 16. Thatis, processing shown in FIG. 33 is composed of times T1 to T4, whereasthe processing shown in FIG. 16 is composed of times T1 to T3. In otherwords, processing for transmitting operation data of respective playersfrom the master apparatus to the slave apparatuses, which has beenperformed conventionally, is not required in the cooperative musicplaying game according to the present embodiment. Therefore, compared tothe conventional processing, it is possible to reduce a time lag betweenthe operation and the sound output. Particularly, with respect to thecommunication processing between the stationary apparatus 3 and each ofthe hand-held apparatuses 40, the operation data is only sent from eachof the hand-held apparatuses 40 to the stationary apparatus 3.Accordingly, processing composed of times T1 to T3 can be satisfactoryperformed within a processing time period of one frame. As a result, itis possible to provide the player with a comfortable play feelingwithout causing the player to feel the time lag in the sound output.

Further, since the sound outputting processing is performed on thestationary apparatus 3, higher quality sound data (heavy data) can beprocessed compared to a case where the sound processing is performed byusing the hand-held apparatus 40 which has a CPU of relatively lowprocessing speed. Accordingly, a high quality sound can be outputted,whereby amusingness of the cooperative music playing game can beenhanced.

Next, respective pieces of data used in the present embodiment will bedescribed. First, data relating to the stationary game apparatus 3 willbe described. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a memory map of the externalmain memory 12 (which, may be replaced with the internal main memory 11e, or may be used in combination with the internal main memory 11 e)shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 17, the external main memory 12includes a program storage area 120, a data storage area 123, and a workarea 128. Data in the program storage area 120 and the data storage area123 corresponds to such data that is downloaded from a predeterminedserver, stored in the flash memory 17, and then copied into the externalmain memory 12 at the time of the cooperative music playing game.

The program storage area 120 has stored therein a game program executedby the CPU 10. The game program is composed of a game main program 121,a distribution program 122, and the like.

The game main program 121 is a program corresponding to processing in aflowchart (apart of processing on the stationary apparatus) shown inFIG. 27 described later. The distribution program 122 is a programdistributed to the member apparatus (a program executed on the memberapparatus).

The data storage area 123 has stored therein various flags used duringthe game process as well as high quality sound data 124, image data 125,communication data 126, distribution data 127, and the like.

The high quality sound data 124 is data representing sound waveform dataof all the musical instruments used in the cooperative music playinggame. In the present embodiment, all the sound scales are not stored,but several sound scales are stored as reference sounds. For example,the sound waveform data of only “do” and “so” is stored. In the soundoutputting processing, the sound waveform data is processed asappropriate so as to generate and output other sound scales. Further,the high quality sound data 124 represents a higher sound qualitycompared to low sound quality data 148 stored in the hand-held apparatus40 described later. For example, the high quality sound data includesthe sound waveform data of a higher sampling rate compared to the lowsound quality data 148.

The image data 125 is data relating to various images displayed on thetelevision 2 during the cooperative music playing game. Thecommunication data 126 is various data necessary to performcommunication with the hand-held apparatuses 40.

The distribution data 127 is used in the distribution program. Thedistribution data 127 includes image data or the like displayed on themember apparatus. Therefore, the distribution data 127 is distributed tothe member apparatus together with the distribution program.

The work area 128 has stored thereinmusical-composition-for-cooperative-play data 129, scoring point data130, and the like. The musical-composition-for-cooperative-play data 129is transmitted from the leader apparatus. A content of themusical-composition-for-cooperative-play data 129 is data of one musicalcomposition to be played cooperatively, among musical composition data146 stored in the leader apparatus described later. The scoring pointdata 130 stores therein scoring point data which is transmitted fromeach of the hand-held apparatuses 40. The scoring point data 130 is usedto display the scoring point as shown in FIG. 15.

Next, data relating to the hand-held apparatus 40 will be described.Data stored in the leader apparatus, among all the hand-held apparatuses40, will be described first. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a memory mapof the RAM 54, which is shown in FIG. 10, in the leader apparatus. Asshown in FIG. 18, the RAM 54 includes a program storage area 140, a datastorage area 144, and a work area 149.

The program storage area 140 has stored therein a game main program 141and the like executed by the CPU core 51. The game main program 141includes a cooperative playing processing program 142, a communicationprogram 143, and the like. The cooperative playing processing program142 is a program to display a screen as shown in FIG. 14, and to performthe cooperative music playing game according to the present embodiment.The communication program 143 is a program to perform communication withthe stationary apparatus 3 during the cooperative music playing game.Although not shown, the game main program 141 has stored therein variousprograms necessary for the game process such as a cooperative playingprocessing program for a single-player play. Correspondence relationsbetween the buttons and the sound scales (key map) as indicated on theabove-described note header 107 are defined in the cooperative playingprocessing program 142.

In the data storage area 144, a communication data 145, musicalcomposition data 146, image data 147, the low quality sound data 148 andthe like are stored. The communication data 145 is used for connectingand communicating with the stationary apparatus 3.

The musical composition data 146 is data relating to a musicalcomposition to be played cooperatively. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing anexemplary data structure of the musical composition data 146. Themusical composition data 146 is composed of a group of a musicalcomposition ID 161, bibliographic data 162 and musical score data 163.The musical composition ID 161 is an ID for uniquely identifyingrespective musical compositions. The bibliographic data 162 is datarelating to bibliographic information on respective musicalcompositions. For example, the bibliographic data 162 includes data suchas a name of a musical composition, a name of an artist and the like.These pieces of bibliographic information is displayed on the musicalcomposition selection screen (see FIG. 13).

The musical score data 163 is used when a player performs a playoperation. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an exemplary data structure ofthe musical score data 163. As shown in FIG. 20, the musical score data163 is composed of a part 164, musical scale data 165, a tempo list 166and a parameter list 167. The part 164 is data indicative of a musicalinstrument used to play the part. The musical scale data 165 representsa content of an operation performed by a player as well as a note of thepart. That is, the musical scale data 165 stores therein data relatingto the note header 107 and data relating to the note tail 108 shown FIG.14 in chronological order.

FIG. 21 shows a specific example of the musical scale data 165. Anexemplary data shown in FIG. 21( a) corresponds to displayed contents ofthe track 105 shown in FIG. 21( b). The musical scale data 165 iscomposed of a musical scale 1651 and a type 1652. The musical scale data165 stores therein data of a musical score which is divided in sixteenthnote units, and the sixteenth note is the minimum length of a sound inthe present cooperative music playing game (1 record=data of sixteenthnote) The musical scale 1651 indicates a sound pitch such as do, re andmi, and a rest. The type 1652 indicates either the note header 107 orthe note tail 108.

With reference back to FIG. 20, the tempo list 166 is data indicative ofa tempo of a musical composition. FIG. 22 is an exemplary data structureof the tempo list 166. The tempo list 166 is composed of a time 1661 anda tempo 1662. The time 1661 indicates a position in a musicalcomposition and set the start of the musical composition as “0”. Thetime 1661 is set so as to satisfy the length of the quarter note=12. Thetempo 1662 indicates a tempo of the musical composition at the pointindicated in the above-described time 1661. For example, the tempo isindicated by values ranging from 30 to 300.

With reference back to FIG. 20, the parameter list 167 indicates aparameter relating to a part to be played. As shown in FIG. 23, theparameter list 167 is composed of a time 1671 and a play parameter 1672.The time 1671 is the same as the time 1661 in the tempo list. The playparameter 1672 has stored therein a scale mode indicative of the numberof sharps (#) and flats (♭) and data indicative of a volume. By usingthe play parameter 1672, the volume and the musical scale can be changeddynamically during playing.

With reference back to FIG. 18, the image data 147 indicates variousimages displayed on the game screen of the leader apparatus. The lowquality sound data 148 is sound data to be outputted from theloudspeaker 60 of the leader apparatus. Since the low quality sound data148 is processed on the hand-held apparatus, the sound quality is lowerthan the high quality sound data 124 stored in the stationary apparatus3.

In the work area 149, scoring point data 150 indicative of the scoringpoint calculated based on the operation performed on the leaderapparatus is stored.

Next, data stored in the member apparatus will be described. FIG. 24 isa diagram showing a memory map of the RAM 54 of the member apparatus. Asshown in FIG. 24, the RAM 54 includes a program storage area 180, a datastorage area 184, and a work area 189.

In the program storage area 180, a distribution program 181 transmittedfrom the stationary apparatus 3 is stored. The distribution program 181includes a cooperative playing processing program 182, a communicationprogram 183 and the like. The cooperative playing processing program 182displays a screen as shown in FIG. 14, and executes the cooperativemusic playing game according to the present embodiment on the memberapparatus. Therefore, a main function of the cooperative playingprocessing program 182 is the same as that of the cooperative playingprocessing program 142 in the leader apparatus. The communicationprogram 183 performs communication with the stationary apparatus 3during the cooperative music playing game. Although not shown, variousprogram necessary for the game process is stored in the communicationprogram 183.

In the data storage area 184, distribution data 185 transmitted from thestationary apparatus 3 is stored. The distribution data 185 has storedtherein communication data 186, image data 187, low quality sound data188 and the like. Since these pieces of data is the same as thecommunication data 145, the image data 147, and the low quality sounddata 148 of the leader apparatus, description thereof will be omitted.

In the work area 189, musical-composition-for-cooperative-play data 190,scoring point data 191 and the like are stored. Themusical-composition-for-cooperative-play data 190 corresponds to themusical-composition-for-cooperative-play data 129 which is in thestationary apparatus 3 and transmitted to the member apparatus. Thescoring point data 191 indicates the scoring point calculated based onthe operation performed on the member apparatus.

Next, a communication packet transmitted among the game apparatusesduring the game process of the present embodiment will be described.FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an exemplary communication packetstructure. As shown in FIG. 25, the communication packet is composed ofa header 201 and a data section 202. The header 201 includes datarelating to a port to be used for communication and a length of data ofthe data section 202 (that is, the length of the data section 202 isvariable). The data section 202 includes various data used in thecooperative music playing game.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an exemplary data section 202 in severalaspects during the cooperative music playing game processing. FIG. 26(a) is an exemplary data section 202 transmitted from the hand-heldapparatus 40 to the stationary apparatus 3 at the time of the entryprocessing. In the data section 202 shown in FIG. 26( a), acommunication ID 203, an identification command 204 and a name 205 areset. As the communication ID 203, a communication ID assigned by thestationary apparatus 3 during the connection processing is set. Thecommunication ID 203 is used to identify the communication relating tothe present cooperative music playing game, among various pieces ofcommunication exchanged between the stationary apparatus 3 and thehand-held apparatus 40. The identification command 204 indicates a typeof data to be transmitted or types of commands without including data,and in this case, the type of data to the transmitted is a name of aplayer (indicated as “entry” in this case). As the name 205, the “name”inputted in the hand-held apparatuses 40 by each of the players is set.

FIG. 26( b) is an exemplary data section 202 transmitted from thehand-held apparatus 40 to the stationary apparatus 3 at the time of partselection processing. In FIG. 26( b), the communication ID 203, theidentification command 204, and the selection part 206, which are thesame as those shown in FIG. 26( a), are set. As the identificationcommand 204, data indicating that the selected part is to be transmittedis set (in this case, “part selection” is displayed). As the selectedpart 206, information indicative of a part selected by the player isset.

FIG. 26( c) is an exemplary data section 202 transmitted from thehand-held apparatus 40 to the stationary apparatus 3 at the interval of1/60 sec. (1 frame) during the cooperative playing processing. In FIG.26( c), in addition to the communication ID 203 and the identificationcommand 204 which are the same as those shown in FIG. 26( a), keyinformation 207, touch information 208, a currently elapsed play time209, a current scoring point 210 are set. As the identification command204 shown in FIG. 26( c), data indicating that the operation data duringthe cooperative play is to be transmitted is set (in this case, the“cooperative play” is displayed). As the key information, informationrelating to whether or not the button operation is performed in thehand-held apparatus 40, and information relating to a button having beenoperated are set. As the touch information, information relating towhether or not the touch panel 45 is touched and information relating toa coordinate point having been touched are set. As the currently elapsedplay time 209, an elapsed time of a musical composition being played ata time point when the packet is transmitted is set. That is, thecurrently elapsed play time 209 indicates a position of the musicalcomposition at the time point when the packet is transmitted, and can beused for determining a timing when the player has pressed a button, forexample. As the current scoring point 210, a scoring point of the playerat the time point when the packet is transmitted is set.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 27 to 31, an operation of thecooperative music playing game process according to the presentembodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 27 is a diagram showing, indetail, a flow of the cooperative music playing game process accordingto the present embodiment. Hereinafter, it is assumed that processing onthe member apparatus side is performed in each of a plurality of themember apparatuses.

First, the connection processing of step S1 shown in FIG. 11 will bedescribed in detail. A game is started up in the stationary apparatus 3(step S21). Specifically, when the stationary apparatus 3 is turned on,the CPU 10 of the stationary apparatus 3 executes a start-up programstored in the ROM/RTC 13, and respective units such as the external mainmemory 12 is initialized accordingly. The cooperative music playing gameprogram stored in the flash memory 17 is read into the external mainmemory 12, and CPU 10 starts executing the cooperative music playinggame program.

In the leader apparatus as well, the cooperative music playing game isstarted up (step S11). Specifically, when the leader apparatus is turnedon, the CPU core 51 of the leader apparatus executes a start-up programstored in a boot ROM (not shown), and initializes respective units suchas the RAM 54, accordingly. The packaged cooperative music playing gameprogram stored in the memory card 47 is read into the RAM 54, and thegame program is caused to be executed. As a result, a game image isdisplayed on the first LCD 41 via the first GPU 56, and on the secondLCD 42 via the second GPU 57, whereby a game process is started. Theplayer thereafter performs an operation to select the game mode for themultiple-player play, and then performs an operation to cause the leaderapparatus to be connected to the stationary apparatus 3.

On the other hand, each of the member apparatuses has no memory card 47inserted therein. Therefore, in each of the member apparatuses, thedownload mode is started up (step S31) so as to download the gameprogram (distribution program 122) from the stationary apparatus 3. Forexample, when the hand-held apparatus 40 is turned on while not havingmemory card 47 inserted therein, a start-up menu is displayed. Thedownload mode is then started up by selecting the download mode from themenu. The member apparatus may be configured such that the start-up menuis displayable without starting up a game of the memory card 47 even ifthe memory card 47 is inserted therein. For example, the memberapparatus may be configured so as to display the start-up menu when thehand-held apparatus 40 is turned on while the start switch 44 b is beingpressed.

Next, the processing for establishing connection is performed (stepsS12, S22, and S32). FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing, in detail, theprocessing for establishing connection performed between the stationaryapparatus 3 and the hand-held apparatuses 40 (a common processing isperformed in both of the leader apparatus and the member apparatus). Aflow on the stationary apparatus 3 side (on the left side) shown in FIG.28 is equivalent to processing of step S22 shown in FIG. 27. Further, aflow on the hand-held apparatus side (on the right side) shown in FIG.28 is equivalent to processing of steps S12 and S32 shown in FIG. 27.

As shown in FIG. 28, in the stationary apparatus 3, communicationhardware is initialized (step S51). In a similar manner, communicationhardware is initialized in the hand-held apparatus 40 (step S61).Thereafter, in the hand-held apparatus 40, the processing proceeds tostep S62 described later, and processing for scanning a beacon isstarted.

Subsequently, in the stationary apparatus 3, the CPU 10 prepares forsending out the beacon. The beacon is a signal which causes thehand-held apparatus 40 to recognize the existence of the stationaryapparatus 3, and to attempt to establish a connection therewith. Thebeacon includes information necessary for connection (hereinafterreferred to as connection information) such as a network address of thestationary apparatus 3 and a game ID. Accordingly, the CPU 10 firstexecutes processing for generating the connection information to beincluded in the beacon (step S52).

Subsequently, in the stationary apparatus 3, a channel to be used forthe communication is selected (step S53). Specifically, the CPU 10measures congestion degrees of respective channels, and selects achannel having a lowest congestion degree (emptiest channel) as achannel to be used for the communication of the cooperative musicplaying game of the present embodiment.

Subsequently, the CPU 10 sends the beacon including the above-describedconnection information to the channel to be used which has been selectedin step S53 (step S54). At the same time, the CPU 10 waits for aconnection request signal from the hand-held apparatus 40.

While the beacon is sent out from the stationary apparatus 3, the beaconis scanned in all the channels of the hand-held apparatus 40 (step S62).The beacon which is detected is received. The CPU core 51 then obtainsthe connection information included in the beacon. As a result, thenetwork address of the stationary apparatus 3, which is source of thebeacon, and the game ID can be obtained.

Subsequently, in the hand-held apparatus 40, the CPU core 51 displays alist of connection destinations, in accordance with the above-describedconnection information, so as to cause the player to select a connectiondestination (step S63). In the present embodiment, since the number ofthe stationary apparatus 3 which is a source of the beacon is only one,only the stationary apparatus 3 is displayed on the list. If a pluralityof the stationary apparatuses 3 is detected, the plurality of stationaryapparatuses 3 is displayed in the list.

Subsequently, the CPU core 51 transmits the connection request signal tothe stationary apparatus 3 in accordance with the connection informationof the selected connection destination (step S64). The connectionrequest signal includes a network address of each of the hand-heldapparatuses and information for identifying either the leader apparatusor the member apparatus. In accordance with the transmission of thesignal, processing for receiving the connection request is performed inthe stationary apparatus 3 (step S55). Subsequently, in stationaryapparatus 3, the CPU 10 assigns the communication ID to each of thehand-held apparatuses 40 which has transmitted the connection request tothe stationary apparatus 3. The CPU 10 then notifies each of thehand-held apparatuses of the communication ID (step S56).

In the hand-held apparatus 40, the CPU core 51 receives the notifiedcommunication ID, and stores the same in the RAM 54 (step S65).Thereafter, communication is performed by using the communication ID.Here ends the processing for establishing connection.

With reference back to FIG. 27, when the connection processing iscompleted, the preparation processing (step S2) is performed. As abovedescribed, in the preparation processing, generally four types ofprocessing is performed, i.e., (1) the processing for downloading thedistribution program, (2) the entry processing, (3) musical compositionselection processing, and (4) part selection processing. First, theprocessing for downloading the distribution program (1) is performed.That is, in the stationary apparatus 3, processing for transmitting thedistribution program is performed. Specifically, the CPU 10 reads thedistribution program 122 and the distribution data 127 from the externalmain memory 12, and divides the same into several pieces ofcommunication packets, respectively. The CPU 10 transmits the packetizeddistribution program 122 and distribution data 127 to each of the memberapparatuses with which connections have been established (step S23).

In the hand-held apparatus 40, the packetized distribution program 122and distribution data 127 are received and reassembled, whereby thedistribution program and the distribution data are downloaded (stepS33). When the downloading is completed, a reception complete signal forindicating that the downloading is completed is transmitted from thehand-held apparatus 40 to the stationary apparatus 3. The stationaryapparatus 3 receives the reception complete signal, and the receptioncomplete signal is transmitted to the leader apparatus. Subsequently, inthe hand-held apparatus 40, the received distribution program and thedistribution data are stored in the RAM 54, and the distribution programis started up (step S34).

Next, the entry processing (2) is performed. The processing determines amember to enter the cooperative play. Specifically, in the stationaryapparatus 3 and the leader apparatus, the entry processing is performedupon reception of the reception complete signal (steps S13 and S24). Inthe member apparatus, the entry processing is performed subsequent tostep S34 (step S35). In the processing, the CPU core 51 displays ascreen urging the player to input a name of the player. The playersholding the leader apparatus and the member apparatus input their namesor nicknames in their own hand-held apparatuses 40. Each of the playersperforms an operation so as to transmit the name or the nickname to thestationary apparatus 3. Based on this operation, the communicationpacket as shown in FIG. 26( a) is generated in each of the hand-heldapparatus 40, and is transmitted to the stationary apparatus 3.

In the stationary apparatus 3, a screen indicative of the number of theplayers having been entered is displayed. The stationary apparatus 3then waits for the names and the nicknames (the packet shown in FIG. 26(a)) to be transmitted from the leader apparatus and the memberapparatus. When the names and the nicknames have been transmitted to thestationary apparatus 3, the display relating the number of playershaving been entered is updated as appropriate. When all the players havecompleted their entries to the game, any player presses a “confirm”button displayed on the television 2 (such that the player informs thestationary apparatus 3 that the entry has been completed) by using thecontroller 7. Accordingly, an entry complete signal is transmitted fromthe stationary apparatus 3 to each of the hand-held apparatuses 40 andthen the entry processing is completed.

Next, the musical composition selection processing (3) is performed. Inthe processing, a musical composition to be played is selected by usingthe leader apparatus, and then performed is processing for distributingdata of the musical composition to the stationary apparatus 3 and theremaining hand-held apparatuses 40. In the leader apparatus, after theentry complete signal is received, the musical composition selectionprocessing is performed (step S14). Specifically, the CPU core 51 of theleader apparatus obtains the musical composition data 146. The CPU core51 then generates a list of musical compositions in accordance with thebibliographic data 162, and displays the list on the first LCD 41.

The player holding the leader apparatus performs an operation to selecta desired musical composition from the displayed list of the musicalcompositions. In accordance with the operation, the CPU core 51 obtainsthe bibliographic data 162 and the musical score data 163 of theselected musical composition, and transmits the same to the stationaryapparatus 3 (step S15). The CPU core 51 performs a display indicatingthat the musical composition is being distributed, and waits for amusical composition distribution complete signal to be transmitted.

In the stationary apparatus 3, when the bibliographic data 162 and themusical score data 163 are transmitted from the leader apparatus, theCPU 10 receives the data, and stores the data as themusical-composition-for-cooperative-play data 129 in the work area 128(step S25). The CPU 10 then performs processing for distributing themusical-composition-for-cooperative-play data 129 to the memberapparatuses (step S26).

When the distribution of the musical-composition-for-cooperative-playdata 129 from the stationary apparatus 3 is started, the CPU core 51 ofeach of the member apparatuses receives themusical-composition-for-cooperative-play data 129, and stores the sameas the musical-composition-for-cooperative-play data 190 in the workarea 189 (step S36). When reception of themusical-composition-for-cooperative-play data is completed, the CPU core51 transmits a reception complete signal indicating that the receptionis completed to the stationary apparatus 3.

In the stationary apparatus 3, when the reception complete signal isreceived from each of the member apparatuses, a musical compositiondistribution complete signal indicating that distribution of the musicalcomposition data is completed is transmitted to the leader apparatus andeach of the member apparatuses. Here ends the musical compositionselection processing.

Next, the part selection processing (4) is performed. In the processing,a part selection screen as shown in FIG. 13 is displayed. Each of theplayers performs an operation for part selection by using the hand-heldapparatus 40 held by the player. When the selection operation isperformed with the hand-held apparatus, the packet as shown in FIG. 26(b) is generated, and then transmitted to the stationary apparatus 3. Thestationary apparatus 3 receives the packet. Based on the receivedpacket, the CPU 10 generates information on correspondence relationbetween the respective hand-held apparatuses 40 and respective parts tobe taken charge by the respective hand-held apparatuses 40, and thenstores the information in the work area 128. The CPU 10 then generates aselection-done signal indicative of parts having been selected, andtransmits the same to each of the hand-held apparatuses 40. Each of thehand-held apparatuses 40 constantly receives the selection-done signal,and reflects the signal in the part selection screen. When all theplayers have determined their parts, the stationary apparatus 3transmits a part selection complete signal to each of the hand-heldapparatuses 40.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing, in detail, the part selection processingperformed in the leader apparatus and each of the member apparatuses. Asshown in FIG. 29, the CPU core 51 of each of the leader apparatus andthe member apparatuses generates and displays the part selection screenas shown in FIG. 13, in accordance with the musical score data 163 (orthe musical score data included in themusical-composition-for-cooperative-play data 190 in the case of themember apparatus) (step S71). The CPU core 51 then determines whether ornot the selection-done signal has been transmitted from the stationaryapparatus 3. As a result, when the signal has been transmitted, the CPUcore 51 performs processing so as to receive the signal (step S72). Theselection-done signal indicates a part having been selected by anotherplayer.

The CPU core 51 then reflects the selection-done signal in the screen asappropriate, and updates the screen (step S73). Accordingly, apartselection state of another player is constantly reflected in the screenof each of the hand-held apparatuses 40.

The CPU core 51 then determines whether or not the selection operationhas been performed by the player (step S74). When the selectionoperation has not been performed, the processing is repeated afterreturning to step S72. When the selection operation has been performed(YES in step S74), the CPU core 51 obtains operation data indicative ofa content of the operation performed by the player, and determines whichof the parts has been selected by the player (step S75).

The CPU core 51 then generates the communication packet as shown in FIG.26( b) in accordance with the operation data, and transmits the same tothe stationary apparatus 3 (step S76). As above described, thestationary apparatus 3 receives the communication packet. Based on thepacket, the above-described selection-done signal is generated in thestationary apparatus 3, and is then transmitted to each of the hand-heldapparatuses.

The CPU core 51 displays a standby screen indicative of being on standbyuntil all the players complete the part selection (step S77). The CPUcore 51 then determines whether or not the part selection completesignal has been transmitted from the stationary apparatus 3 (step S78).When the part selection complete signal has not been transmitted (NO instep S78), the CPU core 51 waits until the part selection completionsignal is transmitted. When the part selection complete signal istransmitted (YES in step S78), the CPU core 51 receives the signal, andthe part selection processing is completed. Here ends the description ofthe preparation processing.

With reference back to FIG. 27, when the preparation processing iscompleted, the cooperative playing processing is performed while therespective game apparatuses are synchronized with one another (stepsS17, S28 and S38). First, the cooperative playing processing (steps S17and S38) on the hand-held apparatus 40 side will be described. FIG. 30is a flowchart showing, in detail, hand-held side cooperative playingprocessing performed on each of the hand-held apparatuses 40. As shownin FIG. 30, the CPU core 51 generates a cooperative playing screen asshown in FIG. 14, in accordance with the musical score data 163 (themusical-composition-for-cooperative-play data 190 in the case of themember apparatus) (step S81).

The CPU core 51 then receives control information from the stationaryapparatus 3 (step S82). The control information includes information forsynchronization in a game progress between the stationary apparatus 3and each of the hand-held apparatuses 40. The control information alsoincludes information indicative of a timing of transmitting theoperation data from each of the hand-held apparatuses 40 to thestationary apparatus 3. In the present cooperative music playing game,even if the operation data is transmitted simultaneously from aplurality of the hand-held apparatuses 40 to one stationary apparatus 3as necessary, the stationary apparatus 3 may not be able to receive theoperation data simultaneously, or may fail in receiving some pieces ofthe operation data. Therefore, a slight time lag is set in the timing oftransmitting the operation data from each of the hand-held apparatuses40.

The CPU core 51 then displays a game screen (step S83). In accordancewith the information for synchronization in the game progress which isincluded in the control information, the CPU core 51 adjusts and thendisplays a content of the screen (such as a display position of thecursor 110) to be displayed as appropriate.

The CPU core 51 obtains the operation data (step S84). That is, the CPUcore 51 determines whether or not any of the buttons such as the crosskey 44 a is pressed, and detects which button has been pressed when anybutton is determined to have been pressed. Further, the CPU core 51 alsodetermines whether or not the touch panel 45 is touched, and obtains thetouch coordinate point when the touch panel is determined to have beentouched.

In accordance with the operation data obtained in step S84, the CPU core51 performs scoring point calculation processing (step S85). That is,the CPU core 51 compares a content of an operation indicated by theoperation data to the musical scale data 165, and determines whether ornot a correct button is operated. The CPU core 51 also calculates, forexample, the time lag between a timing when a button has been operatedand an appropriate timing. For example, the CPU core 51 determineswhether the type 1652 of the musical scale data 165, at a timing whenany button is pressed, is the “header” or the “tail”, and when the type1652 is determined to be the “tail”, the CPU core 51 calculates a degreeof the time lag between the timing when the button is pressed in the“tail” and the “header”. In accordance with a result of theabove-described comparison, the CPU core 51 calculates a scoring point.The closer the time lag between the musical scale data 165 and theoperation content indicated by the operation data is, the higher thescoring point becomes.

Immediately after the completion of the above-described scoring pointcalculation processing, a sound of each of the parts may be outputtedfrom each of the hand-held apparatuses 40 in accordance with the lowquality sound data 148 and 188.

The scoring point calculation processing may be performed on thestationary apparatus 3. However, in the music game, a time lag inpressing the button is characteristically reflected in the scoringpoint. If the operation data is transmitted to the stationary apparatussuch that the scoring point calculation is performed on the stationaryapparatus, an overhead will be caused by the data transmissionprocessing, and consequently, the timing when the button is pressedcannot be recognized accurately on the stationary apparatus 3 side.Accordingly accurate scoring point calculation may not be able to beperformed. Therefore, as above described, the scoring point calculationprocessing is performed on each of the hand-held apparatuses 40.

In accordance with the operation data obtained in step S84, the CPU core51 generates the communication packet as shown in FIG. 26( c) (stepS86). That is, the information relating to whether or not any button ispressed (when none of the buttons are pressed, a message indicating “nooperation” is transmitted) and the information indicating which of thebuttons has been pressed are set as the key information 207. In asimilar manner, information relating to whether or not the touch panel45 is touched and information on the touch coordinate point are set asthe touch information 208. Further, the currently elapsed play time 209and the current scoring point 210 are also set as appropriate.

In accordance with the transmission timing indicated by the controlinformation received in step S82, the CPU core 51 transmits thecommunication packet generated in step S86 to the stationary apparatus 3(step S87).

The CPU core 51 then receives a reception confirmation signaltransmitted from the stationary apparatus 3 (step S88). The CPU core 51determines whether or not the musical composition currently played iscompleted (step S89). When the musical composition is yet to becompleted (NO in step S89), the processing is repeated after returningto step S82. When the musical composition is completed (YES in stepS89), the CPU core 51 calculates a final scoring point and transmits thesame to the stationary apparatus (step S90). The cooperative playingprocessing at the hand-held side is then completed.

Next, the cooperative playing processing on the stationary apparatus 3side will be described. FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing, in detail,stationary-side cooperative playing processing performed on thestationary apparatus 3. As shown in FIG. 31, when the cooperative playis started, the CPU 10 of the stationary apparatus 3 transmits theabove-described control signal to each of the hand-held apparatuses 40(step S101).

In accordance with the control information, the CPU 10 receives thecommunication packet (the packet shown in FIG. 26( c)) from any of thehand-held apparatuses 40 (step S102).

In accordance with a content (the key information and the touchinformation 208) of the received packet, the CPU 10 determines whetheror not any operation is performed on the hand-held apparatus 40, whichis a transmission source (step S103). When no operation is performed onthe hand-held apparatus 40 of the transmission source (NO in step S103),the processing proceeds to step S107 described later. On the other hand,when any operation is performed (YES in step S103), the CPU 10 detects acontent of the operation (step S104).

The CPU 10 then obtains the high quality sound data 124 of a part of amusical instrument taken charge by the hand-held apparatus 40 of thetransmission source (step S105). Subsequently, the CPU 10 processes theobtained high quality sound data 124 in accordance with theabove-described key map (defining correspondence relation between thebuttons and the musical scales) so as to create a musical scalecorresponding to the content of the operation detected in step S104(step S106). For example, if the musical scale of the obtained highquality sound data 124 is “do”, the musical scale is processed into “mi”or “so” in accordance with the content of the operation.

The CPU 10 determines whether or not the operation data of all thehand-held apparatuses 40 entering the cooperative play has beenprocessed or not. When the operation data of all the hand-heldapparatuses 40 is yet to be processed (NO in step S107), the CPU 10returns to the processing of step 102, and repeats the processing ofsteps S102 to S107 with respect those hand-held apparatuses 40 whoseoperation data is yet to be processed.

On the other hand, when the processing is completed with respect to allthe hand-held apparatuses 40 (YES in step S107), the CPU 10 thengenerates the sound data of a part, which is not selected in theabove-described part selection processing, in accordance with themusical-composition-for-cooperative-play 129 (step S108). That is, apart which is not taken charge by any player is played by the stationaryapparatus 3 automatically.

The CPU 10 then combines the sound data of all the parts and generatesthe sound data to be outputted (step S109). That is, the CPU 10generates sound data in a cooperative play state.

The CPU 10 outputs the sound data generated in step S109 from theloudspeaker 2 a (step S110).

The CPU 10 determines whether or not the musical composition currentlyplayed cooperatively is completed (step S111). When the musicalcomposition is yet to be completed (NO in step S111), the CPU 10 returnsto step S101, and repeats the processing. When the musical compositionis completed (YES in step S111), the CPU 10 receives the final scoringpoint data transmitted from each of the hand-held apparatuses 40, andstores the data in the scoring point data 130 (step S112). Thecooperative playing processing on the stationary apparatus 3 side isthen completed.

With reference back to FIG. 27, when the cooperative playing processingis completed, result display processing is performed on the stationaryapparatus 3 (step S29). In the processing, the screen as shown in FIG.15 is generated, and displayed on the television 2. That is, the scoringpoints of all the players are displayed on the television 2 alltogether. The cooperative music playing game process according to thepresent embodiment is then completed.

In this manner, in the present embodiment, the operation data of each ofthe hand-held apparatuses 40 is transmitted to the stationary apparatus3, and in the stationary apparatus 3, in accordance with the operationdata, the sound data is generated and then outputted. Accordingly, it ispossible to reduce a time lag from when each of the players operateseach of the hand-held apparatuses 40 to when the sound (sound in aconcert state), which reflects the operation of each of the players, isoutputted, and thus it is possible to enable the players to enjoy acomfortable cooperative play without having a lag in the sound.Therefore, each player can feel the sense of togetherness more stronglyby playing cooperatively with a plurality of players, and amusingness ofthe cooperative music playing game is also enhanced.

Further, in the present embodiment, processing relating to the sound isperformed on the stationary apparatus 3 having mounted therein a CPU ofhigher performance than that mounted in the hand-held apparatus 40, andthe sound output is also performed on the stationary apparatus 3.Accordingly, the sound processing using high quality sound data, whichgenerally has a large data amount, can be performed without causing alag in processing, and high quality sound can be outputted. Further,even in the case where the sound data is outputted after subjected toeffect processing (such as reverb processing), advanced effectprocessing can be performed compared to the case where the effectprocessing is performed on the hand-held apparatus 40. Accordingly, aricher sound expression such as a more profound sound and a moreextensive sound can be attained. As a result, amusingness of thecooperative music playing game can be further enhanced.

In the above-described embodiment, the software introduced in thestationary apparatus 3 is configured so as to store therein sound dataof musical instruments only. The data (musical score data) of themusical composition to be actually played cooperatively is stored in thememory card 47, and the data is transmitted from the leader apparatus tothe stationary apparatus 3, and then distributed from the stationaryapparatus 3 to the remaining hand-held apparatuses 40. Accordingly, avolume of the software to be introduced in the stationary apparatus 3can be reduced. Further, by adding the memory card 47 having storedtherein new musical composition data, the number of musical compositionsavailable for the cooperative play can be increased on an ex-post basis,and thus a highly extensible cooperative music playing game system canbe provided. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a cooperative musicplaying game which never bores the player.

In the above-described musical composition selection processing, themusical composition data is transmitted from the leader apparatus to thestationary apparatus 3, and then transmitted from stationary apparatus 3to the member apparatuses only. In addition to this, the musicalcomposition data, which is transmitted from the leader apparatus, may betransmitted from the stationary apparatus 3 to the leader apparatus.That is, in the processing for distributing the musical composition dataperformed on the stationary apparatus 3, the musical composition datamay be distributed to all the hand-held apparatuses 40 which areconnected to the stationary apparatus 3, regardless of either the leaderapparatus or the member apparatuses. Accordingly, it becomes unnecessaryto perform, on the stationary apparatus 3, processing for selecting themember apparatuses as the distribution destination, whereby a processingload on the stationary apparatus 3 can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, part selection in the part selectionprocessing is performed on a first-come-first-served basis, and all theplayers take charge of different parts. Instead of this, it may bepossible to allow several players to select a common part.

In addition to the above-described cooperative playing processing usingthe stationary apparatus 3, it may be possible to have a configurationin which the cooperative playing processing can be performed among thehand-held apparatuses 40, as is performed conventionally, and any of theplay modes is selectable by using the leader apparatus. Note that in thecase of the cooperative playing processing among the hand-heldapparatuses 40, the low quality sound data is used. With thisconfiguration, it is possible to extend a range of choices for theplayers in play styles of the cooperative music playing game.

In the above-described embodiment, the note tail and the note header aredisplayed on the screen of each of the hand-held apparatuses so as tocause each of the players to play in accordance with a content of adisplay. Instead of having the note header and the like displayed on thescreen of each of the hand-held apparatuses, it may be possible to havea configuration in which only an operation guidance (e.g., a displayindicating A button=“do” and B button=“re”) indicating correspondencerelation between the buttons and the sound scales is displayed so as toallow each of the player to play freely. Accordingly, it is possible toallow the players to perform the cooperative play impromptu (impromptuplay) while using the high quality sound output from the stationaryapparatus 3.

While the invention has been described in detail, the foregoingdescription is in all aspects illustrative and not restrictive. It isunderstood that numerous other modifications and variations can bedevised without departing from the scope of the invention.

1. A game system executing a game by performing communication between astationary game apparatus and a plurality of hand-held game apparatuses,each including a display section for displaying an image and anoperation section, each of the plurality of hand-held game apparatusescomprising: display control means for causing a plurality of directionalsigns to be displayed on the display section so as to indicate to aplayer an operation to be performed by using the operation section; andoperation data transmission means for transmitting, to the stationarygame apparatus, operation data indicative of a content of the operationperformed by using the operation section, the stationary game apparatuscomprising: sound data storage means for the stationary apparatus forstoring therein a plurality of pieces of sound data; operation datareception means for receiving the operation data transmitted from eachof the plurality of hand-held game apparatuses; sound reading means forobtaining, from the sound data storage means, sound data correspondingto the operation data transmitted from each of the plurality of thehand-held game apparatuses; and sound output means for outputting asound based on the obtained sound data.
 2. The game system according toclaim 1, wherein a game executed by the game system is a music game inwhich a musical composition which is composed of a plurality of parts isplayed cooperatively by using each of the hand-held game apparatuseswhile each of the plurality of parts are taken charge of by each of thehand-held game apparatuses, the plurality of directional signs indicatea content of a play operation of the musical composition with respect toeach of the plurality of parts, each of the hand-held game apparatusesfurther comprises directional sign storage means for storing, in achronological order, therein, data indicative of the plurality ofdirectional signs, the display control means reads, from the directionalsign storage means, the plurality of directional signs for causing eachof the hand-held game apparatuses to play the part taken charge ofthereby, and displays the plurality of directional signs on the displaysection, the sound data storage means for the stationary apparatusstores therein sound data corresponding to each of the plurality ofparts, and the sound data reading means reads, in accordance with theoperation data, sound data corresponding to a part taken charge of by ahand-held game apparatus which is a transmission source of the operationdata.
 3. The game system according to claim 2, wherein each of thehand-held game apparatuses further comprises: part selection means forcausing a player to select a part to be taken charge of by the player;and part information transmission means for transmitting part selectioninformation indicative of the part selected by the player to thestationary game apparatus, the stationary game apparatus furthercomprises: part information reception means for receiving the partselection information; and all part information transmission means fortransmitting all pieces of the received part selection information toeach of the hand-held game apparatuses.
 4. The game apparatus accordingto claim 3, wherein the stationary game apparatus further comprisesautomatic playing means for reproducing a part of the musicalcomposition, among the plurality of parts constituting the musicalcomposition, which is not selected by the part selection means.
 5. Thegame system according to claim 1, wherein the sound output means iscapable of outputting the sound data obtained by the sound reading meansby changing the musical scale of the sound data to a predeterminedmusical scale.
 6. The game system according to claim 1 wherein theoperation section includes a depressible key, and the operation dataincludes data indicative of an operation of the depressible key.
 7. Thegame system according to claim 1 wherein the operation section includesa touch panel, and the operation data includes data indicative of atouch coordinate point on the touch panel.
 8. The game system accordingto claim 2, wherein each of the hand-held game apparatuses furthercomprises: sound data storage means for the hand-held apparatus forstoring therein sound data whose quality is lower than the sound datastored in the sound data storage means for the stationary apparatus;inter-hand-held-apparatus communication means for performingcommunication among the hand-held game apparatuses;inter-hand-held-apparatus communication game means for performing themusic game while communication among the hand-held game apparatuses isperformed by using the sound data stored in the sound data storage meansfor the hand-held apparatus and the inter-hand-held-apparatuscommunication means; and game mode selection means for causing theplayer to select either of a game mode in which the music game isperformed while communication is performed among the hand-held gameapparatuses or a game mode in which the music game is performed throughcommunication with the stationary game apparatus.
 9. The game systemaccording to claim 2, wherein at least one of the hand-held gameapparatuses further includes: musical composition data storage meansincluding data indicative of the plurality of directional signs; andmusical composition data transmission means for transmitting the musicalcomposition data to the stationary game apparatus, the stationary gameapparatus further comprises: musical composition data reception meansfor receiving the musical composition data; and musical composition datadistribution means for transmitting the received musical compositiondata to the hand-held game apparatuses, the directional sign storagemeans stores therein data indicative of the plurality of directionalsigns included in the musical composition data transmitted from themusical composition data distribution means.
 10. The game systemaccording to claim 9, wherein each of the plurality of the hand-heldgame apparatuses further comprises: scoring point calculation means forcalculating a scoring point of a play operation performed by the playerby comparing the musical composition data to the operation data; andscoring point transmission means for transmitting scoring point dataindicative of the scoring point to the stationary game apparatus, thestationary game apparatus further comprises: scoring point receptionmeans for receiving the scoring point data transmitted by the scoringpoint transmission means; and scoring point display means for displayingthe scoring point of the player of each of the hand-held apparatuses inaccordance with the received scoring point data.
 11. The game systemaccording to claim 9, wherein the stationary game apparatus furthercomprises: distribution program storage means for storing therein a playoperation program for allowing a play operation to be performed by usingeach of the hand-held game apparatuses; and distribution means fordistributing the play operation program, each of the hand-held gameapparatuses further comprises: storage medium receiving means whichdetachably accommodates a storage medium having stored therein a gameprogram for executing the music game and the musical composition data;and play operation program storage means for storing therein the playoperation program, the musical composition data transmission means of ahand-held game apparatus, which accommodates the storage medium,transmits the musical composition data stored in the storage medium tothe stationary game apparatus, the distribution means transmits the playoperation program to a hand-held game apparatus which does notaccommodate the storage medium, the musical composition datadistribution means transmits, to the hand-held game apparatus which doesnot accommodate the storage medium, the musical composition datatransmitted from the musical composition data transmission means of thehand-held game apparatus which accommodates the storage medium, and thehand-held game apparatus, which does not accommodate the storage medium,executes the music game in accordance with the play operation programtransmitted from the distribution means and the musical composition datatransmitted from the musical composition data distribution means.